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AMALS   OF  AUGUSTA  r  -UNTY ,   YIRGIUIA 

by 

Jos,   A,  Y/addell 


9^5-591 


ANNALS 


Augusta  County,  Virginia 


JOS.  A.  WADDELL. 


SUPPLKIVIENT. 


J.  W.  RANDOLPH  &  ENGLISH,  Publishers, 

RICHMOND,  VA. 

1888. 


PRKKACK. 


The  chief  object  of  this  Supplement  is  to  preserve  some  ac- 
count of  many  pioneer  settlers  of  Augusta  county  and  their 
immediate  descendants.  It  would  be  impossible,  within  any 
reasonable  limits,  to  include  the  existing  generation,  and  hence 
the  names  of  living  persons  are  generally  omitted.  The  writer 
regrets  that  he  cannot  present  here  sketches  of  other  ancient  and 
worthy  families,  such  as  the  Andersons,  Christians,  Hamiltons, 
Kerrs,  McPheeterses,  Millers,  Pattersons,  Pilsons,  Walkers,  etc. 
The  genealogies  of  several  of  the  oldest  and  most  distinguished 
families — Lewis,  Preston,  Houston,  etc. — are  omitted,  because 
they  are  given  fully  in  other  publications.  For  much  valuable 
assistance  the  writer  is  indebted  to  Jacob  Fuller,  Esq. ,  Librarian 
of  Washington  and  Lee  University,  and  especially  to  Miss  Alice 
Trimble,  of  New  Vienna,  Ohio. 

J.   A.   W. 

Staunton,  Va.,  March,  1888. 


166310 


CONTKNTS. 


Early  Records  of  Orange  County  Court 381 

The  Rev.  John  Craig  and  His  Times 388 

Gabriel  Jones,  the  King's  Attorney 392 

The  Campbells . , , 396 

The  Bordens,  McDowells  and  McClungs 398 

The  Browns 400 

Mrs.  Floyd's  Narrative 401 

The  Floyds 404 

The  Logans 404 

Colonel  William  Flipming 406 

The  Estills 407 

Colonel  William  Whitley 408 

The  Moffetts 408 

The  Aliens 410 

The  Trimbles  411 

Fort  Defiance 413 

The  Smiths 413 

The  Harrisons,  of  Rockingham 415 

The  Alexanders  and  Wilsons 416 

The  Raid  upon  the  Wilson  Family 417 

The  Robertsons 420 

Treaties  with  Indians 421 

The  McKees 422 

The  Crawfords.   423 

The  Bells 430 

Capture  and  Rescue  of  Mrs.  Estill  and  James  Trimble 433 

Massacre  of  Thomas  Gardiner  and  His  Mother 438 

Some  Curious  Orders  of  Court 439 

The  Acadian  French — Alexander  McNutt 440 

The  Cunninghams 442 

The  Poages 443 

Revolutionary  War  Measures 446 

An  Incident  of  the  Revolution 447 

Andrew  Wallace 448 

Thomas  Adams 449 

Errata 449 

Captain  William  Moore 450 

Colonel  John  Allen 450 

Emigration  to  Kentucky — Perils  by  the  Way 451 

Hanging  for  Horse-Stealing 454 

A  Night  Alarm 456 

The  Black  Hawk  War 457 

The  Hunter  Raid 457 

Travels  About  Home 458 


^^s 

^^M 

ANNALS 


OF 


Augusta  County,  Virginia. 


SUPPLKIVIBNX 


EARLY  RECORDS  OF  ORANGE  COUNTY  COURT. 


The  County  Court  of  Orange  was  opened  January  21, 1734,  and  among 
the  justices  included  in  the  "Commission  of  the  Peace,"  issued  by  Gov- 
ernor Gooch,  were  James  Barbour,  Zachary  Taylor,  Joist  Hite,  Morgan 
Morgan,  Benjamin  Borden  and  the  ubiquitous  John  Smith. 

James  Barbour  was  the  grandfather  of  Governor  James  Barbour  and 
Judge  P.  P.  Barbour. 

Zachary  Taylor  was  the  grandfather  of  the  twelfth  President  of  the 
United  States  of  the  same  name. 

Joist  Hite  (see  page  10)  and  Morgan  Morgan  lived  in  the  lower  Valley. 
The  latter  was  a  native  of  Wales,  and  about  1726  (it  is  said)  removed 
from  Pennsylvania  to  Virginia,  and  erected  the  first  cabin  in  the  Valley 
south  of  the  Potomac,  and  in  the  present  county  of  Berkeley.  He 
also  erected  the  first  Episcopal  church  in  the  Valley,  about  1740,  at  the 
place  now  called  Bunker  Hill.  He  died  in  1766,  leaving  a  son  of  the 
same  name. 

According  to  tradition,  Colonel  John  Lewis  met  Benjamin  Borden  in 
Williamsburg  in  1736,  and  invited  him  to  accompany  him  home,  which 
led  to  the  acquisition  by  Borden  of  a  large  tract  of  land  in  the  present 
county  of  Rockbridge,  known  as  "  Borden's  Grant  "  (see  page  16).  We 
think  it  likely,  however,  that  Colonel  Lewis  first  encountered  Borden 
at  Orange  Court.  In  1734,  Borden  probably  lived  in  the  lower  Valley, 
then  a  part  of  Orange  county,  as  he  certainly  did  ten  years  later.     When 


382  SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE 

justices  of  the  peace  were  appointed  for  Frederick  county,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1743,  he  was  named  as  one  of  them,  but  did  not  qualify,  having 
died  about  that  time.  His  will  was  admitted  to  record  by  Frederick 
County  Court  at  December  term,  1743,  and  his  son,  Benjamin,  succeeded 
to  the  management  of  his  Rockbridge  lands. 

John  Smith  cannot  be  located.  We  only  know  certainly  that  he  was 
not  the  Captain  John  Smith,  of  Augusta,  who  figured  in  the  Indian  wars 
after  1755.  He  may  have  been  the  "  Knight  of  the  Golden  Horseshoe," 
named  Smith,  who  accompanied  Governor  Spotswood  in  his  visit  to  the 
Valley  in  1716. 

The  first  allusion  in  the  records  of  Orange  to  Valley  people  is  under 
date  of  July  20,  1736.  On  that  day  Morgan  Morgan  presented  the  peti- 
tion "of  inhabitants  of  the  western  side  of  Shenando,"  which  was 
ordered  to  be  certified  to  the  General  Assembly.  What  the  petition 
was  about  is  not  stated.  The  name  now  written  "  Shenandoah  "  was 
formerly  put  in  various  ways—"  Shenando,"  "  Sherando,"  "  Sherundo," 
etc. 

On  May  21,  1737,  the  Grand  Jury  of  Orange  presented  the  Rev.  John 
Beckett ''  for  exacting  more  for  the  marriage  fee  than  the  law  directs." 
On  publication  of  the  banns  he  exacted  fifteen  shillings.  The  trial  came 
off  on  the  22d  of  September  following,  and  the  minister,  being  found 
guilty,  was  fined  five  hundred  pounds  of  tobacco.  But  Mr.  Beckett's 
troubles  did  not  end  there.  On  November  25,  1737,  he  was  reported 
to  court  "  for  concealing  a  tithable." 

In  his  work  called  "Old  Churches  and  Families,"  etc.,  Bishop  Meade 
says  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Beckett  was  regularly  elected  minister  of  St. 
Mark's  parish,  in  May,  1733,  and  continued  until  the  year  1739.  He 
says  further  :  "  From  something  on  the  vestry  book  a  year  or  two  before, 
there  would  seem  to  have  been  a  serious  cause  of  complaint  against 
Mr.  Beckett."  The  proceedings  in  court  above  mentioned  give  a  clew 
to  the  cause  of  trouble. 

Under  date  of  September  22,  1737,  we  have  the  following:  "William 
Williams,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  Gent.,  having  taken  the  oaths  ap- 
pointed by  act  of  Parliament,"  etc.,  "  and  certified  his  intention  of 
holding  his  meetings  at  his  own  plantation  and  on  the  plantation  of 
Morgan  Bryan,"  it  was  admitted  to  record,  etc.  From  subsequent  men- 
tion of  Mr.  Williams,  it  appears  that  he  lived  in  what  is  now  Frederick 
or  Berkeley.  He  was  engaged  in  trade,  probably  as  a  merchant,  and 
was  evidently  too  busy  a  trader  to  do  much  preaching.  For  several 
years  he  furnished  more  business  to  the  court  than  any  other  person. 
He  brought  suit  after  suit  against  his  customers,  it  is  presumed,  and 
was  uniformly  successful,  obtaining  judgment  in  every  case.  On  the 
23d  of  February,  1738,  two  men  "  sent  up  "  by  Morgan  I\Iorgan,  J.  P.,  on 
the  charge  of  robbing  the  house  of  Mr.  Williams,  were  examined  and 
acquitted.  At  July  court,  1738,  a  suit  brought  by  Mr.  Williams  against 
the  inevitable  John  Smith  and  some  thirty  or  forty  more,  "for  signing 
a  certain  scandalous  paper  reflecting  on  ye  said  Williams,"  came  on. 


ANNALS   OF   AUGUSTA   COUNTY.  383 

The  preacher  was  again  triumphant.  Many  of  the  signers  of  the 
"scandalous  paper  "  "  humbly  acknowledged  their  error,  begging  par- 
don, were  excused,  paying  costs"  At  September  Court  the  suit  was 
abated  as  to  John  Smith  on  account  of  his  death.  Which  John  Smith 
this  was  we  have  no  means  of  ascertaining.  He  probably  was  a  neigh- 
bor of  Mr.  Williams. 

We  next  find  John  Smith  (probably  the  .Squire)  and  Benjamin  Borden 
in  limbo.  On  October  22,1737,  "Zachary  Lewis,  Gent.,  attorney  for 
our  Sovereign  Lord,  the  King, informed  the  Court  that,  at  the  houses  of 
Louis  Stilfy  and  John  Smith,  certain  persons,  viz:  the  said  John  Smith, 
John  Pitts,  Benjamin  Borden "  and  others  "  do  keep  unlawful  and 
tumultuous  meetings  tending  to  rebellion,''  and  it  was  ordered  that  the 
sheriff  take  said  persons  into  custody,  etc.  At  November  Court,  "Ben- 
jamin Borden,  Gent,"  and  his  roistering  and  rebellious  companions  ap- 
peared, were  examined,  and,  "  acknowledging  their  error,"  were  dis- 
missed with  costs.  Whether  the  Benjamin  Borden  referred  to  was  the 
father,  or  his  son  of  the  same  name,  we  do  not  know. 

On  the  28th  of  April,  1738,  it  was  "ordered  that  ordinary  keepers  at 
Shenendo  sell  their  Virginia  brandy  at  the  rate  of  six  shillings  per  gal- 
lon." All  the  country  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  was  then  know  by  the 
various  names  afterwards  written  Shenandoah 

William  Beverley's  deed  to  "  William  Cathrey,"  the  first  of  a  long  series 
of  deeds  by  Beverley  to  various  persons,  was  admitted  to  record  Sep- 
tember 28th,  1738. 

On  the  same  day  it  was  "ordered  that  the  Sheriff  of  Sharrando  give 
public  notice  " — exactly  what  cannot  be  made  out  from  the  writing.  It 
related,  however,  to  tithables,  a  list  of  whom  was  to  be  delivered  to 
William  Russell,  Gent.  It  is  presumed  that  a  deputy  sheriff  of  Orange 
county  lived  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge. 

The  Act  of  Assembly,  constituting  Augusta  and  Frederick  counties, 
was  passed  November  i,  1738,  but  the  business  of  the  people  of  Augusta 
was  transacted  at  Orange  Courthouse  till  December,  1745,  when  the  Court 
of  Augusta  was  organized.  In  the  meantime  all  persons  in  the  Valley 
"having  suits  to  prosecute,  pleas  to  enter,"  etc.,  had  to  take  the  long 
trip  on  horseback,  through  the  gaps  in  the  mountain  and  by  "bridle 
paths"  to  Orange,  spending  two  or  three  days  on  the  way.  Moreover, 
as  there  was  no  minister  of  the  Established  Church  in  the  Valley  till 
1747,  all  couples  living  here  and  wishing  to  be  married,  had  to  travel 
across  the  Blue  Ridge  to  Orange,  or  elsewhere,  in  search  of  a  minister 
authorized  by  law  to  perform  the  service. 

William  Beverley's  deeds  to  John  Lewis,  George  Hudson,  George 
Robertson  and  Patrick  Campbell  were  admitted  to  record  February  22, 
1739- 

On  the  same  day,  "John  Lewis,  Gent,  having  taken  the  oaths  and 
subscribed  theTest,  wassworn  into  his  military  commission  accordingly." 
The  title,  or  rank,  is  not  given,  but  it  was  no  doubt  that  of  Colonel. 

Zachary  Taylor  obtained  license  to  keep  an  ordinary,  March  22,  1739. 


384  SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE 

And  now  we  have  the  first  reference  to  a  public  road  west  of  the  Blue 
Ridge.  June,  1739,  "John  Poage,  David  Davis  and  George  Hutchison 
having,  according  to  an  order  of  Court,  viewed  and  laid  off  a  road  from 
Beverley  Manor  "  etc.,  ''  It  is  ordered  that  the  said  road  be  cleared  from 
John  Young's  at  the  North  Mountain  to  the  top  of  the  Blue  Ridge  to  the 
bounds  of  Goochland  county."  The  order  of  court  directing  the  laying 
off  of  the  road  was  not  found. 

Early  in  1740,  or  shortly  before,  there  was  a  great  influx  of  popu- 
lation into  the  Valley.  On  the  22d  of  May,  1740,  fourteen  heads  of 
families  appeared  at  Orange  Court  to  "prove  their  importation."  The 
first  order  of  the  series  is  as  follows: 

"Alexander  Breckenridge  came  into  Court  and  made  oath  that  he 

imported  himself,  and  ,  John,  George,    Robert,   ,   Smith, 

,  and  Letitia  Breckenridge  from  Ireland  to  Philadelphia,  and  from 

thence  to  this  colony,  at  his  own  charges,  and  this  is  the  first  time  of 
proving  his  and  their  rights  in  order  to  obtain  land,  which  is  ordered  to 
be  certified."  He,  however,  acquired  by  purchase  from  Beverley  245 
acres,  on  March  24,  1741. 

The  blanks  above  indicate  names  which  are  illegible  in  the  record 
book.  Of  only  one  of  Alexander  Breckenridge's  children,  Robert,  have 
we  any  particular  account.  (See  page  140.)  Possibly  most  of  the  others 
died  young.  There  is  no  mention  in  the  order  of  the  daughter  named 
Sarah,  but  she  was  the  wife  of  Robert  McClanahan  when  the  family 
came  to  the  Valley. 

On  the  same  day  with  Breckenridge,  the  following  settlers  in  the 
Valley  appeared  in  Court  and  proved  their  importation  in  like  manner, 
all  having  come  from  Ireland  through  Philadelphia,  viz : 

James  Bell  and  his  children,  John,  Margaret  and  Elizabeth.  These 
were  the  "  Long  Glade  Bells." 

John  Trimble  and  his  children,  Ann,  Margaret  and  Mary. 

John  Hays  and  his  children,  Rebecca,  Charles,  Andrew,  Barbara, 
Joan  and  Robert 

Patrick  Hays  and  his  children,  Francis,  Joan,  William,  Margaret, 
Catharine  and  Ruth. 

William  Brown  and  his  children,  Mary,  Robert,  Hugh  and  Margaret, 

Robert  Patterson,  his  wife  Grace,  and  his  children,  Thomas,  Mary 
and  Elizabeth. 

David  Logan,  his  wife,  Jane,  and  his  children,  Mary  and  William. 

Robert  Poage,  his  wife,  Elizabeth,  and  his  children,  Margaret,  John, 
Martha,  Sarah,  George,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  William  and  Robert. 

John  Anderson,  his  wife,  Jane,  and  his  children,  Esther,  Mary  and 
Margaret. 

George  Anderson,  his  wife,  Elizabeth,  and  his  children,  William, 
Margaret,  John  and  Frances. 

Samuel  Scott,  his  wife,  Jane,  and  son,  John. 

Robert  Scott,  his  wife,  Ann,  and  his  children,  Mary,  George  and 
Esther. 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA   COUNTY.  385 

David  Wilson,  his  wife,  Charity,  and  son,  fames. 

James  Caldwell  and  his  children,  Mary,  Jean,  Agnes,  John,  Sarah  and 
Samuel. 

John  Steven.^on  and  his  children,  Sarah  and  Mary. 

John  Preston  came  in  with  Breckenridge  and  others,  but  postponed 
proving  his  importation  till  1746,  when  he  appeared  before  the  court 
of  Augusta,  "to  partake  of  his  Majesty's  bounty  for  taking  up  lands." 
(See  page  31.) 

On  the  26th  of  June,  1740,  the  following  Augusta  people  "proved 
their  importation,"  having  come  from  Ireland  through  Philadelphia,  viz  : 

Hugh  Campbell  and  his  children,  Esther  and  .Sarah. 

Robert  Young  and  his  children,  Agnes,  John,  Samuel  and  James. 

John  Smith,  his  wife,  Margaret,  his  children,  Abraham,  Henry,  Dan- 
iel, John  and  Joseph,  and  Robert  McDowell.  This  was  Captain  John 
Smith,  of  Augusta,  who  became  prominent  during  the  Indian  wars,  as 
did  his  sons,  Abraham,  Daniel  and  John. 

Henry  Downs  was  presented  by  the  Grand  Jury,  November  27,  1740, 
"  for  Sabbath-breaking  by  traveling  with  loaded  horses  to  Sharrendo," 
on  the  information  of  John  and  William  Dewitt. 

Benjamin  Borden  (probably  Benjamin,  Jr.,)  next  appears  as  a  peace- 
able citizen,  or  rather  "subject  of  the  King,"  in  fear  of  his  life.  On 
February  26,  i74i,he  "swore  the  peace  against  George  Moffett,  making 
oath  that  "  he  goes  in  danger  of  his  life,  or  some  bodily  hurt,  by  the 
said  George  Moffett."  The  latter  appeared  in  court,  and  was  regularly 
"bound  over,"  his  securities  being  James  Cathrey  and  John  Christian. 
This  can  hardly  be  the  prominent  citizen  of  Augusta,  know  as  Colonel 
George  Moffett,  who  died  in  181 1,  aged  seventy-six  years,  and  who  was 
therefore  only  six  years  old  in  1741. 

We  now  come  to  the  mention  of  the  first  preacher  of  the  Gospel  who 
lived  in  Augusta  : 

February  26,  1741,  "John. Craig,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  in  open 
Court  took  the  oaths  appointed  by  act  of  Parliament  to  be  taken  instead 
of  the  oaths  of  allegiance  and  supremacy  and  the  oath  of  abjuration, 
and  subscribed  the  Test:  which  is  ordered  to  be  certified." 

William  Beverley,  on  February  14,  1742,  conveyed  to  Mr.  Craig  335 
acres  of  land— no  doubt  the  tract  on  Lewis's  creek,  where  Mr.  Craig 
lived,  afterwards  owned  by  Benjamin  T.  Reid  and  now  (1SS7)  by  the 
heirs  of  Robert  S.  Harnsberger. 

James  Patton  brought  sundry  suits  in  1741,  and  from  that  time  till 
1746,  he  and  Beverley  often  appeared  in  court  as  litigants. 

William  Thompson  qualified  as  administrator  of  Joiin  Campbell  in 
1741,  John  Lewis  security.  The  decedent  was  the  ancestor  of  Colonel 
Arthur  Campbell,  General  William  Campbell  and  many  others. 

A  new  "Commission  of  the  Peace"  was  issued  by  the  Governor  in 
the  fall  of  1741,  and  on  the  3d  of  November  the  Justices  were  sworn  in. 
Among  them  were  John  Lewis,  James  Patton,  and  John  Buchanan,  all 
of  whom  sat  in  court  that  day. 


386  SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE 

William  Beverley  qualified  as  County  Lieutenant  of  Orange  and  also 
of  Augusta,  November  3,  1741. 

Under  date  of  November  27,  1741,  we  find  some  items  of  general  in- 
terest, viz  : 

The  Grand  Jury  presented  "Jonathan  Gibson  of  the  Parish  of  St. 
Thomas,  Gent.,  for  not  frequenting  his  parish  church  for  the  space  of 
two  months  last  past,  on  ye  information  of  the  Rev.  Richard  Hartswell." 
Mr.  Gibson  immediately  appeared  in  court,  confessed  judgment,  and 
"  it  was  considered  by  the  court  that  he  pay  the  church  wardens  of  St. 
Thomas  parish  ten  shillings  current  money,  or  one  hundred  pounds  of 
tobacco."  There  were  two  or  more  parishes  in  Orange  county  at  that 
time.  In  one  of  these  (St.  Mark's)  Augusta  was  included  till  1745-  St. 
Thomas's  parish  was  mainly  in  what  is  now  Madison  county. 

On  the  same  day,  and  also  on  the  information  of  Mr.  Hartswell,  the 
following  presentments  were  made  :  Richard  Cross,  James  Picket  and 
Thomas  Wood,  for  not  frequenting  their  parish  church  ;  and  Tully 
Joices,  Bartholomew  Baker  and  Jonathan  Henning,  "  for  swearing  an 
oath,  each,  on  the  23d  of  this  instant,  November,  1741." 

"  Thereupon,  on  the  information  of  Tully  Joices,  the  jury  presented 
the  Rev.  Richard  Hartswell,  of  ye  parish  of  St.  Thomas,  for  being  drunk 
on  the  23d  instant " — the  day  the  swearing  was  done.  This  was  evi- 
dently a  spiteful  proceeding  on  Tully's  part.  What  came  of  the  pre- 
sentment we  failed  to  discover. 

Bishop  Meade  could  not  ascertain  the  name  of  the  first  minister  of 
St.  Thomas  parish.  On  page  85,  Vol.  II,  he  says  :  "  At  that  time  "  [1740] 
"an  old  Scotch  minister  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  whose  name  I  have 
not  been  able  to  ascertain,  but  who,  it  seems,  was  fond  of  good  cheer 
and  a  game  of  cards,  officiated  regularly  at  the  church."  Mr.  Hartswell 
was  doubtless  the  person  referred  to. 

James  Patton  qualified  as  "Colonel  of  Augusta  County,"  May  27,  1742. 

On  June  24,  1742,  John  Buchanan,  John  Smith,  Samuel  Gay,  James 
Cathrey  and  John  Christian  qualified  as  captains  of  militia ;  and  John 
Moffett  and  William  Evans  as  lieutenants.  On  the  same  day  the  fol- 
lowing constables  were  appointed,  viz  :  John  Steavenson,  Thomas  Turk, 
James  Allen,  Patrick  Martin,  John  Gay  and  James  Cole. 

Many  deeds  executed  by  Beverley  and  Borden,  respectively,  were 
admitted  to  record  in  the  latter  part  of  1742,  and  the  number  of  suits 
had  greatly  increased. 

On  the  27th  of  November,  1742,  the  "inhabitants  of  Borden's  Tract  " 
petitioned  for  a  road  to  Wood's  Gap,  and  the  Court  ordered  that  the 
road  be  "cleared  from  James  Young's  through  Timber  Grove." 

A  new  "  Commission  of  the  Peace  "  was  issued  in  November,  1742, 
and  still  another  in  May,  1743,  in  both  of  which  Colonels  Lewis  and  Pat- 
ton  were  included. 

At  November  Court,  1742,  several  Indians,  arrested  "  for  terrifying  one 
Lawrence  Strother  and  on  suspicion  of  stealing  hogs,"  were  ordered 
into  custody,  their  guns  to  be  taken  from  them  "  till  they  are  ready  to 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  387 

depart  out  of  the  county,  they  having  declared  their  intention  to  depart 
out  of  this  colony  within  a  week." 

On  February  26,  1743,  John  Pendergrass,  for  not  attending  his 
parish  church,  was  fined  ten  shillings,  or  one  hundred  pounds  of  tobacco, 
payable  to  the  churchwardens.  In  the  Valley  nothing  of  this  kind  was 
done  during  the  time  of  the  religious  establishment.  The  settlers  of 
the  Valley,  coming  in  as  Dissenters,  had  ample  "toleration";  but  in 
other  parts  of  the  colony,  people  claimed  as  belonging  to  the  Established 
Church,  and  forsaking  its  services,  were  subjected  to  the  sort  of  disci- 
pline leferred  to. 

In  1743,  Beverley  prosecuted  suits  against  James  Bell,  Patrick  Camp- 
bell and  George  Robertson,  of  Augusta. 

On  the  23d  of  February,  1744,  James  Patton  qualified  as  collector  of 
duties  "in  that  part  of  Orange  called  Augusta." 

On  the  same  day,  Peter  Scholl  and  others  living  on  Smith's  creek 
(now  Rockingham)  petitioned  the  Court,  setting  forth  that  they  were 
required  to  work  on  a  road  thirty  miles  distant  from  their  plantations, 
and  praying  for  a  new  road  nearer  home.  Evidently  there  was  no  road 
within  thirty  miles  of  Peter  SchoH's  dwelling.  That,  however,  did  not 
trouble  him  and  his  neighbors  so  much  as  the  fact  that  they  had  to  go 
so  far  to  work,  which  was  a  hardship.     The  petition  was  granted 

Peter  Scholl  was  one  of  the  first  justices  of  Augusta  county  in  1745. 
A  man  of  the  same  name,  and  probably  the  same  person,  was  living  in 
Kentucky,  in  1776,  intimately  associated  with  Daniel  Boone.  He  is 
spoken  of  as  Boone's  nephew  in-law.  (See  Collins's  History  of  Ken- 
tucky.) 

May  24,  1744,  Jane  Breckenridge,  widow  of  Alexander  Breckenridge, 
in  open  court  relinquished  her  right  to  administer  on  the  estate  of  her 
deceased  husband,  in  favor  of  her  son,  George,  who  entered  into  bond, 
etc.  Think  of  the  venerable  matron  having  to  travel  from  her  home 
near  Staunton  to  Orange  Courthouse  for  such  a  purpose !  The  writer  of 
these  notes  is  naturally  indignant,  as  Mrs.  Breckenridge  was  his  great- 
great-great-grand- mother. 

James  Trimble  was  appointed  constable  in  place  of  James  Anderson, 
February  28,  1744.  This  was  probably  the  James  Trimble  who  became 
deputy  surveyor  of  Augusta  in  December,  1745. 

At  last  we  find  a  movement  for  a  road  through  the  Valley.  On  Feb- 
ruary 24,  1745,  James  Patton  and  John  Buchanan  reported  that  they  had 
viewed  the  way  from  the  Frederick  county  line  "through  that  part  of 
the  county  called  Augusta,  according  to  the  order  made  last  March," 
(which  the  writer  failed  to  see)  and  the  court  ordered  "that  the  said 
way  be  established  a  public  road." 

The  last  order  of  Orange  Court  in  reference  to  Augusta,  or  her 
people,  was  entered  at  November  term,  1745  when  Augusta's  part  of 
the  cost  of  running  the  line  between  the  two  counties  was  fixed  at  ^32 
5S.  9d. 


388  SUPPLEMENT   TO   THE 


THE  REV.  JOHN  CRAIG  AND  HIS  TIMES. 


For  an  account  of  the  Rev.  John  Craig  see  page  20. 

In  reference  to  Mr.  Craig's  personal  history  we  have  Httle  to  add  ;  but 
that  enthusiastic  antiquarian,  Major  J.  M.  McCue,  having  brought  to 
light  a  record  book  kept  by  the  pioneer  minister  for  nine  years,  we  find 
in  it  sundry  items  of  more  or  less  interest. 

The  title  of  the  book,  as  written  by  the  minister  himself,  is  as  follows : 
"A  record  of  the  names  of  the  children  baptized  by  the  Rev.  John 
Craig,  both  in  his  own  and  in  neighboring  congregations,  where  God  in 
His  Providence  ordered  his  labors."  It,  however,  embraces  other 
things  besides  the  record  of  baptisms.  The  writer  was  too  busy  to 
think  of  style,  and  some  of  the  entries  are  the  more  interesting  because 
of  their  quaintness  and  crudity. 

The  first  child  baptized  in  the  county  by  Mr.  Craig  was  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Jeremiah  Williams,  October  5,  1740.  On  October  26th, 
Samuel,  son  of  William  Logan,  was  baptized;  and  on  the  2Sth,  Mary, 
daughter  of  John  Preston.  Jean,  daughter  of  Robert  McClanahan,  was 
baptized  December  8,  1740,  and  this  child,  on  growing  up,  became  the 
wife  of  Alexander  St.  Clair,  who  is  often  mentioned  in  the  Annals. 

James  Bell's  twins,  William  and  James,  were  baptized  December  12, 
1740.  They  were  of  the  Long  Glade  family.  William  was  killed  in 
battle  during  the  Revolutionary  War. 

At  the  close  of  the  first  year,  Mr.  Craig  writes:  "The  year  being 
ended,  the  whole  number  baptized  by  me  is  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  :  sixty-nine  males  and  sixty-four  females.  Glory  to  God  who  is 
daily  adding  members  to  His  visible  church  !  " 

It  appears  from  Mr.  Craig's  record,  as  well  as  elsewhere,  that  there 
was  a  low  state  of  morals  amongst  the  white  servants  brought  into  the 
county  before  the  Revolution.  This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  as  many 
of  such  persons  were  criminals  brought  over  under  sentence  of  transpor- 
tation. But  good  people  appear  to  have  sought  to  rear  the  children  of 
the  convicts  under  religious  influences.  On  January  20,  1742,  "  Mr. 
James  Patton  stood  sponsor  for  a  child  baptized,  named  Henry,  born  in 
his  house  of  a  convict  servant,  a  base  person  ;  could  not  be  brought  to 
tell  who  was  the  father,  notwithstanding  all  means  used." 

Robert,  son  of  Robert  Young,  was  baptized  January  22,  1742,  and  Mr. 
Craig  notes  that  he  was  "born  with  teeth." 

William  Johnston's  son,  Zachariah,  was  baptized  September  26,  1742, 
and  his  son,  Joseph,  April  21,  1745  (see  page  200J. 

In  the  second  year  the  number  of  baptisms  was  eighty-two,  and  the 
record  is  followed  by  another  ascription  of  praise  to  God. 

Under  date  of  December  19,  1742,  we  find:  "This  day  the  news  of 
the  Indian  rebellion  and  the  death  of  our  friends  by  their  hands,  came 


ANNALS   OF   AUGUSTA   COUNTY.  389 

to  our  ears."  The  allusion  is  to  the  massacre  of  John  McDowell  and 
his  companions  in  the  Forks  of  James  river  (see  pages  31,  32).  There 
was,  however,  no  Indian  rebellion.  A  party  of  Indians  returning  from 
Williamsburg,  under  some  sudden  impulse  or  possibly  provocation, 
fired  upon  the  whites,  and  then,  frightened  at  their  act,  ran  away  as 
fast  as  they  could. 

David  Logan's  child,  Benjamin,  was  baptized  by  Mr.  Craig,  May  3, 
1743.  This  child  became  the  distinguished  General  Logan  of  Kentucky. 
(See  elsewhere  in  this  Supplement). 

On  the  26th  June,  1743,  several  children  were  baptized  at  North 
Mountain  Meeting-house,  and  on  the  30th,  eight  at  South  Mountain 
Meeting-house.  The  latter  place  may  have  been  the  predecessor  of 
Tinkling  Spring,  or  it  may  have  been  in  the  present  county  of  Rock- 
bridge. The  names  of  the  children  baptized  there  were  Hays,  Greenlee, 
Dunlap,  Crawford,  Breckenridge,  etc. 

The  child  of  a  woman  "  lately  from  Ireland,"  bound  to  John  Pickens, 
was  baptized  December  10,  1743.  ^^^s.  Eleanor  Pickens  stood  sponsor, 
her  husband  being  abroad.  From  1740  to  1749,  inclusive,  various  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  John  and  Gabriel  Pickens  were  baptized.     (See  page  28). 

James  Robertson's  son,  Alexander,  was  baptized  January  10,  1744. 

On  the  15th  of  January,  1744,  David  Campbells  child,  Arthur,  was 
baptized.  This  was  the  widely  known  and  distinguished  Colonel 
Arthur  Campbell      (See  page  98). 

James  Trimble's  son,  John,  was  baptized  March  18,  1744,  and  James 
Robertson's  son,  George,  April  24,  1744.  (See  "The  Trimbles  "  and 
"  The  Robertsons  "). 

Mr.  Craig  pursued  his  calling  wherever  he  went.  Lender  date  of  June 
I,  1744,  he  says  :  "  Being  at  Synod  "  [of  Philadelphia]  "  I  baptized  three 
children  in  Pennsylvania." 

Elizabeth  Herison,  "  an  adult  person,"  was  baptized  July  27, 1744,  and 
the  following  children  at  the  dates  mentioned  :  John  Pickens's  son,  Israel, 
October  i,  1744;  Thomas  Stuart's  son,  Archibald,  and  Edward  Hall's 
daughter.  Jennet,  February  12,  1745;  John  Crawford's  son,  William, 
March  21,  1745;  and  David  Logan's  son,  Hugh,  March  24,  1745. 

William  Renix  was  baptized  June  2,  1745,  and  his  brother,  Joshua, 
in  October,  1746.  These  were  children  of  Robert  Renix,  who  was  killed 
by  Indians  in  1761,  and  his  wife  and  children  carried  ofif.  (See  page 
107).  William  returned  from  captivity  with  his  mother  in  1767.  Joshua 
remained  with  the  Indians,  and  became  a  chief  of  the  Miamis. 

Next  we  have  the  date  of  the  first  meeting  at  Tinkling  Spring.  After 
recording  the  baptism  of  Samuel  Davison's  child,  Jesse,  April  14,  1745, 
Mr.  Craig  says,  in  words  expressive  of  his  dissatisfaction  with  the  place 
and  the  people  :  "This  being  the  first  day  we  meet  at  the  contentious 
meeting-house  about  half  built-'T.  S." 

The  "  contention,"  to  which  Colonel  Patton  was  a  partv  (see  page  44), 
was  then  vexing  Mr.  Craig's  soul.  He  mentions,  however,  June 9,  1745, 
"This  day  Colonel  Patton  appeared  at  meeting." 


390  SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE 

On  September  i,  1745,  Charles  Campbell's  son,  William,  was  baptized. 
This  child  became  the  celebrated  General  William  Campbell,  of  King's 
Mountain  fame,  the  maternal  grandfather  of  William  C.  Preston,  of 
South  Carolina.     (See  "  The  Campbell's.") 

February  26,  1746.  was  "a  fast  day  appointed  by  the  Governor  upon 
ye  account  of  ye  civil  war."  The  war  referred  to  was  doubtless  the  re- 
bellion in  Great  Britain  stirred  up  by  Charles  Edward,  son  of  the  Pre- 
tender to  the  British  throne,  which  began  in  1745,  and  was  ended  by 
the  battle  of  Culloden,  April   16,  1746. 

At  North  Mountain  Meeting-house,  June  i,  1746,  among  the  children 
baptized  were  John  Trimble's  son,  James,  and  Alexander  Crawford's 
son,  William.  It  is  an  interesting  c<-)incidence  that  John  Trimble  and 
Ale.xander  Crawford  were  both  murdered  by  Indians  in  October,  1764, 
and  probably  on  the  same  day,  as  related  elsewhere.  John  Trimble's 
son,  James,  mentioned  above,  probably  died  in  childhood,  and  another 
child  called  by  the  same  name,  born  in  1756,  became  Captain  James 
Trimble. 

John  Madison,  the  first  clerk  of  the  County  Court  of  Augusta  county, 
and  father  of  Bishop  Madison,  was  no  doubt  a  member  of  the  Church 
of  England  ;  but,  no  rector  having  been  appointed  for  Augusta  parish, 
his  son  Thomas  was  baptized  by  Mr.  Craig  in  October,  1746. 

David  Stuart  and  Abigal  Herrison,  "adult  persons,"  were  "bap- 
tized, after  profession  of  faith  and  obedience,"  January  21,  1747. 

Thomas  Stuart's  child.  Jennet,  was  baptized  February  22,  1747.  This 
was  probably  the  "  Miss  Jenny  Stuart,"  a  very  old  maiden  lady,  who 
was  residing  in   Staunton  within  the  recollection  of  persons  still  living. 

Mr.  Craig's  record  shows  that  there  were  repeated  lapses  from  the 
path  of  virtue,  and  not  alone  by  the  class  of  "convict  servants."  It 
would  not  be  to  edification  to  set  these  matters  forth  in  detail.  The 
civil  magistrates  were  rigid  in  the  enforcement  of  laws  against  immor- 
ality, and  the  minister  of  religion  faithfully  performed  his  duty  in  the 
premises  as  he  understood  it.  "Public  satisfaction"  was  required  of 
delinquents  before  they  were  allowed  to  have  their  children  baptized. 

The  first  rector  of  Augusta  parish  was  the  Rev.  John  HindmaUj  who 
was  appointed  Aprils,  1747.  (Seepage  34.)  W^e  have  no  account  of 
him  before  that  date.  But  he  seems  to  have  been  a  Dissenter  and  an 
old  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Craig,  who  mentions  him  curtly,  April  5,  1747, 
as  follows:  "This  day  John  Hindman  attend,  having  turned  his  coat 
and  now  appears  in  the  quality  of  a  Church  of  England  parson." 

Robert  McClanahan's  son,  Robert,  was  baptized  April  19,  1747.  He 
became  Dr.  Robert  McClanahan,  married  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Lewis, 
removed  (after  1770)  to  the  part  of  Botetourt  now  Greenbrier,  was  cap- 
tain in  the  Botetourt  regmient  under  Colonel  Fleming  in  1774,  and  killed 
at  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant. 

John  Tate's  child,  Eleanor,  was  baptized  at  North  Mountain  Meeting 
house,  November  5,  1747  ;  and  Joseph  Bell's  child,  Mary,  February  21, 
1748. 


ANNALS  OF  AUGUSTA  COUNTY.  -  391 

Andrew  Lewis's  son,  Samuel,  was  baptized  September  15,  1748,  and 
became  a  Lieutenant  Colonel  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 

James  Crawford's  son,  Alexander,  and  Patrick  Crawford's  daughter, 
Martha,  were  baptized  in  November,  1748. 

Robert  McCIanahan's  child,  William,  was  baptized  January  10,  1749. 
He  was  the  father  of  Colonel  Elisha  McClanahan,  of  Roanoke. 

On  January  22,  1749,  Mr.  Craig  makes  the  following  entry  :  "This  the 
first  day  we  meet  in  and  preach  in  Augusta  meeting-house."  It  is  gen- 
erally supposed  that  this  refers  to  the  stone  meeting-house  which  is  still 
standing  and  used  by  the  congregation.  We  are  not  sure  of  that,  how- 
ever; the  entry  mav  refer  to  a  log  building  which  preceded  the  stone 
house. 

During  the  year  1749,  besides  his  regular  preaching  places,  Augusta 
and  Tinkling  Spring,  Mr.  Craig  administered  baptism  at  North  Moun- 
tain, South  Mountain,  "Timber  Grove,"  North  River,  near  Great  Lick, 
Calf  Pasture  and  Cow  Pasture. 

The  last  entry  in  the  book  is  dated  September  28,  1749.  During  the 
nine  preceding  years  the  number  of  baptisms  was  883,-463  males  and 
420  females.  Mr.  Craig  could  not  say  with  the  Apostle  Paul  that  he  was 
sent  "not  to  baptize,  but  to  preach  the  gospel,"  although  he  too,  no 
doubt,  preached  whenever  and  wherever  he  could. 

According  to  Mr.  Craig's  account  of  himself,  he  married,  June  11, 
1744,  "a  young  gentlewoman  of  a  good  family  and  character,  born  and 
brought  up  in  the  same  neighborhood  where  I  was  born,  daughter  of 
Mr.  George  Russel,  by  whom  I  had  ninechildren."  The  first,  third  and 
fifth  children  died  young,  and  another  must  have  died  after  the  narrative 
was  written,  as  we  can  learn  of  only  five  of  his  children  who  came  to 
maturity. 

His  only  son  was  named  George.  He  married  a  Miss  Kennerly,  and 
removed  to  Kanawha.    The  daughters  of  Mr.  Craig  were — 

I.  Patience,  wife  of  William  Hamilton.  This  couple  had  three  sons 
and  five  daughters,  viz. : 

1.  John  C.  Hamilton,  married  Sally  Craig — no  relation.  The  late 
William  and  John  Hamilton,  of  Christian's  creek,  were  sons  of  John 
and  Sally. 

2.  Hugh  Hamilton,  married  Betsy,  daughter  of  Samuel  Clark,  of 
Staunton.  He  went  to  Missouri  and  died  there.  His  son.  Dr.  William 
Hamilton,  was  long  an  assistant  physician  at  the  Western  Lunatic 
Asylum. 

3.  Andrew  Hamilton,  married  Nancy  Craig — no  relation. 

IL  Mary  Craig,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  John  Craig,  married  Charles 
Baskin,  who  was  baptized  by  Mr.  Craig,  March  15,  1741.  Captain  Baskin, 
as  he  was  called,  was  badly  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Guilford,  in  1781. 
He  had  two  children.  Captain  John  C.  Baskin,  of  the  war  of  1812,  and  a 
daughter,  who  married  William  Grimes. 

in.  Joanna  Craig,  married  John  Hamilton,  a  brother  of  William,  hus- 
band of  Patience.     No  children. 


392  SUPPLEMENT   TO    THE 

IV.  The  name  of  Mr.  Craig's  fourth  daughter  is  not  known.  She 
married  an  Atwater,  and  had  two  children :  John,  who  died  in  service 
during  the  war  of  1812,  and  Hannah,  who  married  George  Craig,  of 
Putnam  county. 


GABRIEL  JONES,  THE  KING'S  ATTORNEY. 


Gabriel  Jones  was  the  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  Jones,  of  the  county 
of  Montgomery,  North  Wales.  At  what  date  this  couple  came  to 
America  is  not  known.  They  settled  at  Williamsburg,  Virginia,  and  on 
the  i.^th  of  August,  1721,  their  first  child,  a  daughter  named  Elizabeth, 
was  born  in  William  and  Mary  College.  Nearly  three  years  later,  on 
May  17,  1724,  Gabriel  was  born,  about  three  miles  from  Williamsburg. 
Another  son,  named  John,  was  born  at  the  same  place,  June  12,  1725. 

John  Jones,  the  father,  apppears  to  have  died  before  the  year  1727. 
Mrs.  Jones  and  her  children  were  in  England  at  the  beginning  of  that 
year,  and  on  February  20th  her  daughter  was  baptized  at  St.  Giles-in- 
the-Fields,  London,  as  shown  by  the  parish  record. 

In  April,  1732,  Gabriel  was  admitted  as  a  scholar  of  the  "  Blue  Coat 
School,"  Christ's  Hospital,  London,  on  the  presentation  of  Mr.  Thomas 
Sandford.  There  he  remained  seven  years.  Under  date  of  April  12, 
1739.  the  following  entry  appears  on  the  records  of  the  school : 

"  Gabriel  Jones  is  this  day  taken  and  discharged  from  the  charges  of 
this  Hospital  forever,  by  Elizabeth  Jones,  his  mother,  and  by  Mr.  John 
Houghton,  of  Lyon's  Inn,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  Solicitor  in  the 
High  Court  of  Chancery,  with  whom  he  is  to  serve  six  years." 

This  brings  his  history  up  to  1745,  in  which  year  his  mother  died. 
Having  served  out  his  term  of  apprenticeship,  the  young  lawyer,  then 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  was  no  doubt  "  admitted  to  the  bar."  The 
family  were  of  "  gentle  blood,"  but  in  reduced  circumstances.  One  of 
Mr.  Jones's  descendants  preserves  some  old  coin,  on  the  paper  wrap- 
ping of  which  is  written  in  his  own  hand  :  "This  is  the  patrimony  I  re- 
ceived from  my  mother.  From  my  father  I  received  nothing."  As 
early  as  1750  he  used  the  same  crest  and  coat-of-arms  as  Sir  William 
Jones,  indicating  a  relationship  with  that  celebrated  man. 

Gabriel  Jones  found  means  to  return  to  America  soon  after  he  at- 
tained his  majority  and  was  "free  of  his  indentures."  He  located  first 
in  Frederick  county,  and  on  March  i,  1747,  bought  a  tract  of  land  near 
Kernstown,  where  he  lived  for  a  time.  He  resided  in  Frederick  in 
April,  1746,  when  he  was  appointed  prosecuting  attorney  for  Augusta, 
and  was  then  only  twenty-two  years  old. 

On  the  i6th  of  October,  1749,  Mr.  Jones  married  Margaret  Morton^ 
widow  of  George  Morton,  and  daughter  of  William  Strother,  of  King 
George  county.    Mrs.  Jones  was  born  in  1726,  and  died  in  i822,in   her 


ANNALS    OF   AUGUSTA   COUNTY.  393 

ninety-seventh  year.  She  is  described  as  a  lady  of  eminent  Christian 
character. 

A  deed  of  Christopher  Francisco,  of  Pennsylvania,  to  Gabriel  Jones, 
of  the  county  of  Frederick,  dated  August  8,  1751,  is  recorded  in  the 
clerk's  office  of  Augusta  county.  The  land  conveyed  consisted  of  244 
acres,  being  a  part  of  5,000  acres  granted  by  patent  to  Jacob  Stover,  lying 
on  the  north  side  of  "  Shenandore  River,"  in  the  parish  and  county  of 
Augusta,  and  "  opposite  to  the  lower  end  of  the  Great  Island."  This  was 
the  farm  below  the  present  village  of  Port  Republic,  upon  which  Mr. 
Jones  lived  many  years,  and  where  he  died.  He  was  still  a  resident  of 
Frederick,  however,  on  the  24th  of  August,  1753,  when  Alexander  Richie 
convej'ed  to  him  400  acres  of  land  on  the  north  side  of  James  River  in  the 
present  county  of  Botetourt.  He  sold  his  Frederick  property,  on  which 
he  had  lived,  December  3,  1753,  and  probably  before  the  close  of  that 
year  removed  to  his  farm  on  the  Shenandoah,  in  Augusta. 

If  not  the  first  lawyer  who  resided  in  the  Valley,  Mr.  Jones  was  the 
first  member  of  that  profession  who  lived  in  Augusta.  He  was  actively 
engaged  in  practice  for  many  years.  As  we  have  seen  (pages  35,  36),  he 
also  represented  Augusta  in  the  House  of  Burgesses  in  1757,  1758  and 
1771.  He  was  considered  a  man  of  great  ability  and  unbending  integrity. 
His  only  fault,  or  the  only  one  which  tradition  tells  of,  was  an  extremely 
irritable  temper,  which,  when  aroused,  expressed  itself  in  the  strongest 
terms  he  could  command,  mingled  with  no  little  profanity.  Having  a 
scorn  of  all  dishonesty  and  meanness,  he  did  not  spare  a  miscreant  by 
tongue  or  pen.  Two  of  his  letters  are  before  us.  In  one  he  describes 
a  certain  person,  whose  trickery  he  was  exposing,  as  "  one  of  the  greatest 
villains,"  etc.,  etc.  The  other  is  dated  July  28,  17S2,  and  was  written, 
when  he  was  sick,  to  his  son — indeed,  from  his  own  account  he  was 
"  very  low  " — but  he  summoned  strength  enough  to  denounce  a  man 
about  whom  he  wrote  as  a  "  scoundrel  "  and  "infamous  rascal."  Yet 
at  tne  close  of  this  letter  he  expressed  the  tenderest  affection  for  his 
son's  wife. 

When  Rockingham  was  constituted,  in  1777,  Mr.  Jones  became  a  citi- 
zen of  that  county,  and  was  immediately  appointed  prosecuting  attorney. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  State  Convention  of  1788,  having  his  brother- 
in-law,  Thomas  Lewis,  as  his  colleague,  both  of  them  being  zealous 
advocates  of  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution.  Mr.  Lewis 
was  a  popular  man  while  Mr.  Jones  was  not,  and  it  is  related  that  in  a 
public  speech  before  the  election,  the  latter  declined  the  support  of 
"  the  rascals  "  who,  he  understood,  proposed  to  vote  for  him  because  of 
his  association  with  the  former.  Archibald  Stuart,  of  Augusta,  went  to 
Rockingham  to  electioneer  for  Mr.  Jones,  who  afterwards  presented  to 
him  a  chaise  in  which  to  bring  home  his  wife. 

He  continued  to  practice  law,  and  the  road  he  traveled,  from  his  resi- 
dence to  the  county  seat  of  Rockingham,  is  still  called  "The  Lawyer's 
Road."  An  anecdote  related  of  him,  whether  true  or  false,  illustrates 
the  awe  he  inspired  in  his  latter  days.     It  is  said  that  on  one  occasion, 


394  SUPPLEMENT    TO   THE 

during  the  trial  of  a  cause  before  the  County  Justices  of  Rockingham, 
or  Shenandoah,  he  had  Alexander  Hugh  Holmes,  afterwards  the  Judge, 
as  his  adversary  at  the  bar.  Holmes  was  mischievous  and  witty,  and 
the  old  gentleman  became  angry  and  profane.  The  court  abstained 
from  interfering  as  long  as  possible,  but  finally  put  their  heads  together 
to  confer  about  the  matter.  After  due  consideration,  the  Presiding 
Justice  announced  as  the  judgment  of  the  court  that  they  would  send 
Lawyer  Holmes  to  jail  if  he  did  not  quit  making  Lawyer  Jones  swear 
so. 

Mr.  Jones  died  in  October,  1806.  Having  always  pictured  him  as  a 
giant  in  size  and  strength,  we  were  surprised  to  learn  that  he  was  a 
man  of  small  stature.  His  portrait  represents  him  in  the  old  style  of 
dress,  with  a  large  wig,  and  a  shade  over  his  right  eye.  Some  of  his 
descendants  suppose  that  he  lost  his  eye  during  his  early  life,  and  others 
attribute  the  loss  to  an  accident  during  his  latter  years.  In  the  spring 
of  1887,  a  window,  in  memory  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jones,  was  inserted  by 
their  descendants  in  a  new  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  which  stands 
near  their  former  residence. 

The  children  of  Gabriel  Jones  were  three  daughters  and  one  son, 
besides  one  that  died  in  infancy.  Margaret  Morton,  the  oldest  daughter, 
married  Colonel  John  Harvie,  for  some  time  a  member  of  Congress  and 
for  many  years  Register  of  the  Land  Office  of  Virginia.  The  descend- 
ants of  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Harvie  are  very  numerous,  and  many  of  them 
have  been  highly  distinguished.  Another  daughter  married  John  Lewis, 
of  Fredericksburg,  a  lawyer,  whose  brother  married  a  sister  of  General 
Washington  ;  and  the  third  married  Mr.  Hawkins,  of  Kentucky. 

William  Strother  Jones,  the  only  son  of  Gabriel  Jones,  was  born 
March  21,  1756.  In  the  catalogue  of  students  of  William  and  Mary 
College  we  find  the  name  of  Strother  Jones,  son  of  Gabriel  Jones,  of 
Augusta,  in  1767.  His  wife  was  Fanny  Thornton,  of  Fredericksburg, 
who  died  about  the  year  1790.  He  was  a  captain  in  the  Continental 
army  during  the  Revolution,  and  subsequently  a  colonel  of  militia.  It 
is  said  that  he  was  an  accomplished  gentleman,  but  inherited  his 
father's  temper.  At  one  time  during  the  war  he  was  ordered  under 
arrest  for  "  beating  a  sentry  while  on  post  and  a  corporal  on  guard." 

William  Strother  Jones,  Jr.,  was  the  only  son  of  the  former.  He  was 
born  October  7,  1783,  lived  in  Frederick  county,  married,  first  Ann 
Maria  Marshall,  a  niece  of  Chief-Justice  Marshall,  and,  second,  Ann 
Cary  Randolph,  and  died  July  31,  1845. 

The  children  of  the  last-named  William  Strother  Jones  were,  Mrs.  F. 
L.  Barton,  of  Winchester ;  Wm.  Strother  Jones,  now  of  New  York; 
Captain  James  F.  Jones,  who  was  murdered  in  1866  ;  Francis  B.  Jones, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  Second  Virginia  regiment,  who  was  killed  at 
Malvern  Hill ;  and  R.  B.  Jones. 

Robert  T.  Barton,  of  Winchester,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  much 
of  the  foregoing  information,  is  a  great-greatgrandson  of  Gabriel  Jones. 

John  Jones,  the  brother  of  Gabriel  Jones,  had  a  son  named  John 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  395 

Gabriel,  who  was  born  June  6,  1752,  and  while  still  a  very  young  man 
went  to  Kentucky.  In  June,  1776,  George  Rogers  Clark  and  John 
Gabriel  Jones  were  chosen  by  a  popular  meeting  at  Harrodsburg  mem- 
bers of  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia.  Before  they  arrived  here 
the  Legislature  had  adjourned,  and  Jones  directed  his  steps  to  the  set- 
tlements on  the  Holston,  leaving  Clark  to  proceed  to  Richmond.  The 
latter  obtained  from  the  council  an  order  for  the  transportation  to  Pitts- 
burg of  500  pounds  of  gunpowder  for  the  use  of  the  people  of  Kentucky. 
At  the  Fall  session  of  the  Legislature  the  two  agents  of  Kentucky  were 
in  attendance.  They  were  not  received  as  members,  but  through  their 
influence  the  county  of  Kentucky  was  constituted.  Clark  and  Jones 
conveyed  the  powder  from  Pittsburg  down  the  Ohio  river  to  a  point 
eleven  miles  above  the  present  town  of  Maysville,  and  concealed  it 
there.  In  December  following,  Colonel  John  Todd  and  a  party  of  men, 
under  the  guidance  of  Jones,  went  for  the  powder;  but  on  Christmas 
day,  when  near  the  Lower  Blue  Lick,  they  were  attacked  by  Indians. 
Jones  and  several  others  were  killed  and  the  expedition  was  aban- 
doned. In  January,  1777,  however.  Colonel  Harrod  succeeded  in  finding 
the  powder  and  conveying  it  to  Harrodsburg. 

John  Jones,  the  brother  of  Gabriel,  was  not  the  rector  of  Augusta 
parish  in  colonial  times.  Some  of  the  descendants  of  Gabriel  Jones 
state  that  as  far  as  they  know  he  had  no  brother  whatever.  Others  not 
only  give  the  brother's  name,  but  the  date  of  his  birth. 


Mrs.  Agatha  Towles,  a  grand-daughter  of  Colonel  John  Lewis,  in  a 
brief  memoir,  written  by  her  in  1837,  states  that  Colonel  Lewis  pre- 
ceded his  family  to  America,  and  lived  in  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia 
three  years  before  their  arrival.  A  brother  of  his  went  from  Wales  to 
Portugal,  and  from  thence  probably  to  America,  but  Colonel  Lewis  came 
directly  from  Ireland.  After  his  rencounter  with  "  the  Irish  Lord,"  he 
took  refuge  in  a  house  on  the  banks  of  the  Boyne,  and  as  soon  as  a  ship 
was  ready  to  sail,  embarked  for  America.  Mrs.  Lewis  and  her  children 
came  over  in  a  vessel  with  three  hundred  passengers,  all  Presbyterians, 
and  landed  on  the  Delaware  river,  after  a  voyage  of  three  months. 
Mrs.  Towles  gives  the  names  of  Colonel  Lewis's  children,  four  sons  and 
two  daughters,  but  says  nothing  of  a  son  named  Samuel.  She  states 
that  her  uncle,  Andrew,  and  her  father,  William  Lewis,  were  at  Brad- 
dock's  Defeat,  and  that  the  latter  was  wounded  on  that  occasion.  It  is 
hardly  probable  that  she  was  mistaken  in  regard  to  her  father,  but  we 
still  think  Andrew  Lewis  was  not  with  Braddock.  (.See  page  64.)  An- 
drew Lewis  having  been  taken  prisoner  at  Grant's  defeat,  in  1758,  (see 
page  105)  was  detained  at  Quebec  for  three  years,  says  Mrs.  Towles. 
She  describeb  her  father  as  a  man  of  eminent  piety. 


396  SUPPLEMENT   TO    THE 


THE  CAMPBELLS. 


John  Campbell  came  from  Ireland  to  America  in  1726,  with  five  or 
six  grown  sons  and  several  daughters,  and  settled  first  in  Lancaster 
county,  Pennsylvania.  Six  or  eight  years  afterwards  he  removed  to 
that  part  of  Orange  county,  Virginia,  which,  in  1738,  became  Augusta 
county,  where  many  of  his  numerous  descendants  lived  for  many  years. 

Three  of  John  Campbell's  sons  came  with  him  to  Augusta,  viz  :  Pat- 
rick, Robert  and  David. 

I.  Patrick  Campbell,  who  died  in  Augusta,  had  at  least  two  sons — 
Charles  and  Patrick. 

1.  Charles  Campbell,  son  of  Patrick,  died  in  Augusta  in  1767.  He 
was  the  father  of  General  William  Campbell,  of  King's  Mountain  fame. 
In  his  will,  dated  August  4,  1761,  proved  in  court  and  admitted  to  re- 
cord March  17,  1767,  he  speaks  of  himself  as  a  resident  of  Beverley's 
Manor.  He  appointed  his  wife,  Margaret,  sole  executrix,  provided  for 
her  support,  left  1,000  acres  of  land  on  the  Holston  to  his  son  William, 
and  lands  in  the  same  section  to  his  daughters.  The  inventory  of  the 
estate  shows  a  larger  amount  of  personal  property  than  was  common 
at  that  time. 

William  Campbell,  only  son  of  Charles,  was  born  in  1745.  In  a  short 
time  after  his  father's  death,  the  whole  family  moved  to  the  Holston, 
now  Washington  county,  then  in  Augusta.  The  oldest  daughter,  Eliza- 
beth, married  John  Taylor,  and  from  her  the  Taylors  of  Botetourt  and 
Montgomery  are  descended;  the  second,  Jane,  married  Thomas  Tate  I 
the  third,  Margaret,  married  Colonel  Arthur  Campbell,  her  second 
cousin;  and  the  fourth,  Ann,  married  Richard  Boston. 

2.  Patrick  Campbell,  second  son  of  Patrick  and  brother  of  Charles, 
went  to  the  southern  part  of  Kentucky,  and  left  many  descendants. 

II.  Robert  Campbell,  son  of  John  and  brother  of  Patrick  (I),  was  one 
of  the  first  Justices  of  the  Peace  appointed  for  Augusta  county,  in  1745. 
He  died  in  1768,  without  leaving  a  will.  His  descendants,  if  any,  are 
not  mentioned  by  Governor  David  Campbell  in  his  account  of  the 
family.     (See  Foote's  Sketches,  2d  series,  page  117). 

III.  David  Campbell,  son  of  John  and  brother  of  Patrick  (I)  and 
Robert  (II),  married,  in  Augusta,  Mary  Hamilton,  and  had  seven  sons 
and  six  daughters,  all  of  whom,  except  a  son  who  died  young,  emi- 
grated to  the  Holston.  The  sons  were  John,  Arthur,  James,  William, 
David,  Robert  and  Patrick  ;  and  the  daughters,  Margaret,  Mary,  Martha, 
Sarah,  Ann,  and  sixth  riot  named. 

I.  John  Campbell,  the  oldest  son  of  David,  was  born  in  1741,  and 
received  a  good  English  education.  He  accompanied  Dr.  Thomas 
Walker  in  his  exploration  in  1765,  and  purchased  for  his  father  a  tract 
of  land  called  the  "Royal  Oak,"  near  the  head  waters  of  the  Holston. 
A  year  or  two  afterwards,  he  and  his  brother  Arthur,  and  their  sister 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA   COUNTY.  397 

Margaret,  moved  to  that  place  and  made  improvements.  About  1771, 
the  parents  and  the  other  children  removed  to  the  same  place. 

John  Campbell  was  a  Lieutenant  in  William  CaniDbell's  company, 
Colonel  Christian's  regiment,  in  1774,  which  arrived  at  Point  Pleasant  too 
late  for  the  battle  of  October  loth.  In  July,  1776,  he  was  second  in 
command  at  the  battle  of  the  Long  Island  Flats  of  Holston,  which 
resulted  in  a  signal  victory  over  the  Indians.  In  October  of  the  same 
year  he  commanded  a  company  under  Colonel  Christian  in  his  expedi- 
tion against  the  Cherokee  towns  (see  page  142,)  and  up  to  1781  was 
almost  constantly  in  military  service.  Hie  was  appointed  clerk  of 
Washington  County  Court  in  1778,  and  held  the  office  till  1824.  His 
death  occurred  in  1825.  He  was  the  father  of  Governor  David  Camp- 
bell. 

Edward  Campbell,  another  son  of  John  Campbell,  the  younger,  and 
brother  of  Governor  Campbell,  was  a  lawyer,  and  father  of  the  late 
Judge  John  A.  Campbell  and  others,  of  Abingdon.  A  sister  of  David 
and  Edward  married  James  Cummings,  son  of  the  Rev.  Charles  Cum- 
mings  (see  pages  50  and  52,)  and  was  the  mother  of  Colonel  Arthur 
Campbell  Cummings,  of  Abingdon. 

2.  Arthur  Campbell,  second  son  of  David,  (see  page  98)  died  about 
181 1,  in  his  si.xty-ninth  year. 

3.  James  Campbell,  third  son,  lost  his  eye-sight  from  small-po.K,  and 
died  at  fifty  years  of  age. 

4.  William  Campbell  died  in  his  youth  before  the  family  moved  to 
the  Holston. 

5.  David  Campbell,  fifth  son  of  David,  was  a  lawyer  and  removed  to 
Tenne'^see.  He  was  first  the  Federal  Judge  in  the  Territory,  and  then 
one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State.  His  death 
occurred  in  1812,  in  the  sixty-second  year  of  his  age.  He  had  been 
appointed  F^ederal  Judge  of  the  Territory  which  afterwards  formed  the 
State  of  Alabama,  but  died  before  he  removed  his  family  to  the  new 
country. 

6.  Robert  Campbell,  sixth  son  of  David,  was  nineteen  years  old  when  he 
went  with  his  brother  to  the  Holston.  He  was  a  volunteer  in  the  expe- 
dition of  1774,  and  a  member  of  his  brother  John's  company  at  the  Long 
Island  Flats,  in  1776.  In  October,  1776,  he  was  in  Christian's  campaign, 
and  in  1780  was  an  ensign  under  Colonel  William  Campbell  at  King's 
Mountain.  In  December,  1780,  he  served  under  Colonel  Arthur  Camp- 
bell, his  brother,  against  the  Cherokees.  After  acting  as  a  magistrate  in 
Washington  County  for  more  than  thirty  years,  he  removed  to  the 
vicinity  of  Knoxville,  Tennessee,  where  he  died  in  1831. 

7.  Patrick  Campbell,  the  youngest  son  of  David,  was  a  volunteer  at 
King's  Mountain.  He  remained  with  his  father  and  inherited  the  home- 
stead. In  his  old  age  he  removed  to  Williamson  County,  Tennessee, 
and  died  when  about  eighty  years  old. 

"    The  daughters  of  David  and  Mary  Campbell — 

I.  Margaret  married  the  David  Campbell  who  erected  a  block-house 


398  SUPPLEMENT   TO   THE 

in  Tennessee,  widely  known  as  "Campbell's  Station."  She  was  con- 
spicuous for  many  excellent  traits  of  character.  Her  death  occurred 
in  1799,  at  the  age  of  fifty-one. 

2.  Mary  married  William  Lockhart  before  the  family  removed  from 
Augusta.- 

3.  Ann  married  Archibald  Roane,  who  was  first  a  teacher  at  Liberty 
Hall  Academy,  Rockbridge,  and  successively  Judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Tennessee,  Governor  of  the  State,  and  Judge  again.  She  died 
at  Nashville  in  1831,  about  seventy-one  years  of  age. 

Several  other  families  of  Campbells,  not  related  as  far  as  known  to 
those  just  mentioned,  were  amongst  the  early  settlers  of  Augusta.  One 
of  these  was  represented  for  many  years  by  Dr.  Samuel  Campbell,  of 
Le.xington,  uncle  of  Charles  Campbell,  the  historian  ;  and  another  by 
the  late  Rev.  William  G.  Campbell  and  his  nephew.  Professor  John  L. 
Campbell,  of  Washington  and  Lee  University. 


THE  BORDENS,   McDOWELLS  AND  McCLUNGS. 


Benjamin  Borden,  Sr.,  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  obtained  from  Gov- 
ernor Gooch  a  patent,  dated  October  3,  1734,  for  a  tract  of  land  in 
Frederick  county,  which  was  called  "  Borden's  Manor."  He  was 
promised,  also,  one  hundred  thousand  acres  on  the  waters  of  James 
River,  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  as  soon  as  he  should  locate  a  hundred 
settlers  on  the  tract.  As  stated  on  page  16,  Ephraim  McDowell  and  his 
family  were  the  first  people  who  settled  there,  in  1737.  They  located 
on  Timber  Ridge,  originally  called  "Timber  Grove,"  being  attracted 
by  the  forest  trees  on  the  ridge,  which  were  scarce  elsewhere  in  the 
region.  Borden  offered  a  tract  of  one  hundred  acres  to  any  one  who 
should  build  a  cabin  on  it,  with  the  privilege  of  purchasing  more  at 
fifty  shillings  per  hundred  acres.  Each  cabin  secured  to  him  one  thous- 
and acres.  Mrs.  Mary  Greenlee  related  in  her  deposition,  referred  to 
on  page  16,  that  an  Irish  girl,  named  Peggy  MillhoUen,  a  servant  of 
James  Bell,  dressed  herself  in  men's  clothes  and  secured  five  or  six 
cabin  rights.  John  Patterson,  who  was  employed  to  count  the  cabins, 
was  surprised  to  find  so  many  people  named  MillhoUen,  but  the  trick 
was  not  discovered  till  after  the  return  was  made.  Among  the  settlers 
in  "Borden's  Grant"  were  William  McCausland,  William  Sawyers, 
Robert  Campbell,  Samuel  Woods,  John  Mathews  (father  of  Sampson  and 
George),  Richard  Woods.  John  Hays  and  his  son,  Charles,  and  Samuel 
Walker.  Borden  obtained  his  patent  November  8,  1739.  He  died  in 
the  latter  part  of  1743,  in  Frederick,  leaving  three  sons,  Benjamin,  John 
and  Joseph,  and  several  daughters.  The  next  spring  his  son  Benjamin 
appeared  in  Rockbridge  (as  it  is  now)  with  authority  under  his  father's 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  399 

will  to  adjust  all  matters  with  the  settlers  on  the  grant.  He  had,  how- 
ever, been  in  the  settlement  before  his  father's  death. 

Mrs.  Greenlee  says  Benjamin  Borden,  Jr.,  was  "altogether  illiterate," 
and  did  not  make  a  good  impression  on  his  first  arrival,  but  he  proved 
to  be  an  upright  man,  and  won  the  confidence  of  the  people.  The 
saying:  "  As  good  as  Ben.  Borden's  bill,"  passed  into  a  proverb.  He 
married  Mrs.  Magdalene  McDowell  (originally  a  Miss  Woods,  of  Rock- 
fish),  widow  of  John  McDowell,  who  was  killed  by  Indians  in  Decem- 
ber, 1742,  (see  page  31,)  and  by  her  had  two  daughters,  Martha  and 
Hannah.  The  former  became  the  wife  of  Robert  Harvey,  the  latter 
never  married. 

Benjamin  Borden,  Jr.,  died  of  small-pox  in  1753.  His  will  was  ad- 
mitted to  record  by  the  County  Court  of  Augusta,  November  21,  1753. 
The  executors  appointed  were  John  Lyle,  Archibald  Alexander  and 
testator's  wife,  but  the  first  named  declined  to  serve.  His  personal 
estate  was  large  for  the  time.  During  her  second  widowhood  Mrs. 
Magdalene  Borden  contracted  a  third  marriage  with  Colonel  John 
Bowyer. 

Joseph  Borden,  brother  of  Benjamin,  Jr.,  was  frequently  in  the  settle- 
ment after  the  latter's  death.  In  course  of  time  he  instituted  the 
chancery  suit  of  Borden  vs.  Bowyer,  &c.,  out  of  which  grew  the  cause 
of  Peck  vs.  Borden,  both  of  which  have  been  pending  in  the  courts  of 
Augusta  county  for  a  hundred  years,  more  or  less. 

The  children  of  John  and  Magdalene  McDowell  were  two  sons, 
Samuel  and  James,  and  a  daughter,  Martha,  wife  of  Colonel  George 
Moffett,  of  Augusta. 

For  mention  of  Samuel  McDowell,  see  pages  148,  179,  191.  He  had 
seven  sons  and  four  daughters.  In  1783  he  removed  to  Kentucky  with 
his  wife  and  nine  younger  children,  leaving  two  married  daughters  in 
Virginia.  One  of  these  daughters  was  the  wife  of  Andrew  Reid,  the 
first  clerk  of  Rockbridge  County  Court,  and  father  of  the  late  Colonel 
Samuel  McDowell  Reid,  of  Lexington.  The  other  married  daughter, 
whose  name  was  Sally,  was  the  first  wife  of  Caleb  Wallace  of  Char- 
lotte county  (subsequently  of  Botetourt),  who  was  first  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  then  a  lawyer,  and  finally  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Kentucky. 

Samuel  McDowell  was  one  of  the  three  judges  of  the  first  Kentucky 
Court,  and  President  of  the  Convention  which  framed  the  first  Consti- 
tution of  Kentucky.  His  son,  Dr.  Ephraim  McDowell,  studied  medicine 
with  Dr.  Humphreys,  in  Staunton,  completed  his  professional  education 
in  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  and  was  very  eminent  as  a  surgeon.  Among 
the  numerous  descendants  of  Judge  McDowell  were  General  Irvine 
McDowell,  of  the  United  States  Army,  General  Humphrey  Marshall, 
and  James  G.  Birney,  the  "Liberty"  candidate  for  President  of  the 
United  States  in  1840  and  1844. 

James  McDowell,  son  of  John  and   Magdalene,   had  one  son,  also 


400  SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE 

named  James,  the  Colonel  McDowell  of  1812  (see  pages  224,  etc.),  and 
father  of  the  late  Governor  James  McDowell. 

The  wife  of  Judge  Samuel  McDowell  was  Mary  McClung.  Her 
brother,  John,  was  the  father  of  William  McClung,  who  removed  to 
Kentucky  and  became  a  judge  of  considerable  distinction.  He  died  in 
1815.  His  wife  was  a  sister  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  and  his  sons, 
Colonel  Alexander  K.  McClung  and  the  Rev.  John  A.  McClung,  D.  D., 
were  highly  distinguished.  A  brother  of  Judge  McClung,  the  late  Mr. 
Joseph  McClung,  lived  and  died  on  Timber  Ridge. 


THE  BROWNS. 


The  Rev.  John  Brown  (see  page  32)  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  educated 
at  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  and  pastor  of  New  Providence  congregation 
for  forty-four  years.  His  residence  was  first  near  the  village  of  Fair- 
field, and  afterwards  near  the  church,  on  the  spot  where  the  late  John 
Withrow  long  resided. 

1.  John  Brown,  the  oldest  son  of  the  Rev.  John  Brown,  was  born  at 
Staunton  (probably  at  Spring  Farm,  where  his  maternal  grandmother 
lived),  September  12,  1757.  He  was  sent  to  Princeton  College,  and 
when  the  American  army  retreated  through  the  Jerseys,  joined  the 
troops,  crossed  the  Delaware  with  them,  and  remained  some  time  as  a 
volunteer.  He  afterwards  was  a  member  of  a  Rockbridge  company, 
and  with  it  served  under  La  Fayette.  His  education  was  completed 
at  William  and  Mary  College.  The  sketch  of  him  in  Collins's  History 
of  Kentucky  (Volume  II,  page  252),  says  he  "  assisted  the  celebrated  Dr. 
Waddell  for  two  years  as  a  teacher  in  his  school,  read  law  in  the  office 
of  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  removed  to  Kentucky  in  17S2."  After  Kentucky 
became  a  State  he  was  three  times  consecutively  elected  a  United 
States  Senator.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives one  or  more  terms.  In  1805  he  retired  to  private  life,  and  after 
that  declined  all  overtures  to  take  office.  He  died  August  28,  1837,  at 
Frankfort.  His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  John  Mason,  of  New 
York,  sister  of  the  distinguished  Rev.  John  M.  Mason. 

The  late  Judge  Mason  Brown,  of  Frankfort,  was  a  son  of  the  Hon. 
John  Brown.  One  of  Judge  Brown's  sons  was  the  late  Benjamin  Gratz 
Brown,  of  Missouri,  the  candidate  for  the  Vice-Presidency  of  the  United 
States  on  the  "  Greeley  Ticket,"  in  1872.  Another  of  his  sons  is  Colo- 
nel John  Mason  Brown,  of  Louisville. 

2.  James  Brown,  the  second  son  of  the  Rev.  John  Brown,  was  distin- 
guished as  a  lawyer  in  Kentucky.  His  wife  was  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Henry 
Clay.     Upon  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana,  he  removed  to  New  Orleans, 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  401 

was  associated  with  Livingston  in  compiling  the  civil  code  of  that  State, 
was  several  times  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate,  and  was  subse- 
quently Minister  to  France.  He  died  in  Philadelphia,  in  1836,  without 
issue. 

3.  Dr.  Samuel  Brown,  the  third  son,  studied  in  Edinburgh,  and  for 
many  years  was  a  professor  in  Transylvania  University. 

4.  Dr.  Preston  W.  Brown,  the  youngest  son,  studied  his  profession  in 
Philadelphia,  practiced  in  Kentucky,  and  died  in  1826. 

The  Rev.  John  Brown  became  pastor  of  New  Providence  in  1753, 
and  continued  such  till  1796,  when  he  followed  his  sons  to  Kentucky. 
He  died  at  Frankfort  in  1803,  in  the  seventy-fifth  year  of  his  age,  his 
wife  having  died  in  1802  in  her  seventy-third  year. 

Mr.  Brown  had  two  daughters — Elizabeth,  wife  of  the  Rev.  Thomas 
B.  Craighead,  of  Tennessee,  son  of  the  Rev.  Alexander  Craighead  (see 
page  69),  and  Mary,  wife  of  Dr.  Alexander  Humphreys. 

John  Humphreys,  whose  wife  was  Margaret  Carlisle,  lived  in  the 
county  of  Armagh,  Ireland.  His  oldest  son,  David  Carlisle  Humphreys, 
came  to  America  in  1763,  when  he  was  about  twenty-two  years  old, 
and  lived  for  eight  years  in  Pennsylvania.  There  he  married  Margaret 
Finley,  who  is  the  Mrs.  Margaret  Humphreys  mentioned  on  page  176. 
In  1771  he  removed  to  Augusta  county,  and  purchased  a  farm  near 
Greenville,  where  he  died  in  1826,  aged  eighty-five  years.  His  children 
were  three  sons,  John,  Samuel  and  Aaron  Finley,  and  five  daughters 
who  were  the  wives  respectively  of  Samuel  McCutchen,  Samuel  Black- 
wood, David  Gilkeson,  James  S.  Willson  and  Archibald  Rhea. 

Dr.  Alexander  Humphreys  was  a  brother  of  David  C.  Humphreys. 
He  came  to  America  some  years  later  than  David  C.  and  lived  first 
near  New  Providence  Church.  He  afterwards  removed  to  Staunton, 
where  he  practised  his  profession  till  his  death,  in  1802.  His  widow 
and  children  then  removed  to  Frankfort,  Kentucky. 


MRS.   FLOYD'S  NARRATIVE. 


Mrs.  Letitia  Floyd,  a  daughter  of  Colonel  William  Preston  and  vvife 
of  the  first  Governor  Floyd,  in  the  year  1843  wrote  an  account  of  the 
Preston  family,  for  the  perusal  of  which,  in  manuscript,  we  are  indebted 
to  Mr.  Howe  P.  Cochran.  Mrs.  Floyd  evidently  wrote  from  her  own 
recollection  of  family  traditions,  without  verifying  her  statements  by 
reference  to  authentic  contemporary  history,  and  is,  therefore,  incorrect 
in  sundry  particulars,  especially  in  regard  to  dates.  But  she  states  much 
that  is  interesting,  and,  no  doubt,  true.  Many  of  the  facts  related  by 
her  are  given  in  the  body  of  the  Annals,  and  a  few  others  will  be  men- 
tioned here. 


402  SUPPLEMENT   TO    THE 

Colonel  James  Patton  had  four  sisters,  two  of  whom  married  "  men  of 
quality"  in  the  old  country.  The  youngest  sister,  Elizabeth,  while 
crossing  the  river  Shannon  in  a  boat,  had  as  a  fellow-passenger  a  young 
man  of  striking  appearance,  who  proved  to  be  a  ship  carpenter  named 
John  Preston.  This  casual  interview  led  to  acquaintance  and  a  run- 
away marriage.  The  young  lady  thus  placed  herself  "  out  of  the  pale 
of  her  family."  Her  brother,  James  Patton,  having  afterwards  retired 
from  the  sea  and  settled  in  America,  induced  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Preston  to 
emigrate  also.  Mrs.  Floyd  puts  the  date  of  their  arrival  in  the  Valley 
as  1735,  and  says  John  Preston  died  seven  years  afterwards  at  "Gib- 
son's old  place,  eight  miles  below  Staunton."  But  it  appears  from  the 
records  of  Augusta  County  Court  that  Ills  death  occurred  in  1747,  and 
if  he  lived  only  seven  years  after  coming,  he  must  have  arrived  in  1740 
with  Alexander  Breckenridge  and  many  others,  as  is  generally  supposed 
to  have  been  the  fact.  While  living  in  Augusta,  remote  from  the  sea- 
board, John  Preston  employed  himself  as  a  cabinetmaker,  constructing 
household  furniture  for  himself  and  neighbors. 

William,  only  son  of  John  Preston,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Newton, 
Ireland,  November  25,  1729.  He  received  most  of  his  education  in 
America,  from  the  Rev.  John  Craig.  Mrs.  Patton  was  a  haughty 
woman,  says  Mrs.  Floyd,  and  kept  aloof  from  the  Prestons.  A  silly 
prediction  of  an  Irish  woman  that  William  Preston  would  get  his 
uncle's  fortune,  so  impressed  her  with  dread  of  a  marriage  between 
the  nephew  and  one  of  her  daughters,  that  she  allowed  no  inter- 
course between  the  young  people.  She  died  soon  after  the  marriage 
of  her  daughters — one  to  a  kinsman  of  hers  named  Thompson,  and 
the  other  to  John  Buchanan  Colonel  Patton  then  induced  his  widowed 
sister  to  remove  to  Spring  Farm,  in  the  vicinity  of  .Staunton,  and  went 
to  live  with  her. 

W^illiam  Preston's  first  regular  employment  was  posting  the  books  of 
Staunton  merchants  and  aiding  his  uncle  in  his  extensive  business  He 
became  deputy  for  Wallace  Estill,  when  the  latter  was  high  sheriff  of 
Augusta.  He  was  also  clerk  of  the  vestry  of  Augusta  parish  and  clerk 
of  the  County  Court  Martial.  Step  by  step  he  rose  to  higher  employ- 
ments. In  1766,  he  was  the  colleague  of  John  Wilson  in  the  House  of 
Burgesses.  His  letters  and  official  reports  which  have  come  down  to 
us,  show  that  he  was  a  man  of  more  culture  than  was  common  in  his 
time  and  section  of  country.  Mrs.  Floyd  says  that  Colonel  Preston, 
Thomas  Lewis  and  others  employed  Gabriel  Jones  to  purchase  libraries 
for  them  in  London. 

As  stated  elsewhere,  Lettice,  the  second  daughter  of  Mrs.  John  Pres- 
ton, was  the  second  wife  of  Major  Robert  Breckenridge.  Major  Breck- 
enridge's  first  wife  was  a  Miss  Poage,  of  Augusta,  and  by  her  he  had 
two  sons,  Robert  and  Alexander.  These  sons,  not  living  harmoniously 
with  their  step-mother,  were  sent  to  Hanover  county  to  learn  the  car- 
penter's trade  with  Francis  Smith,  Colonel  W^illiam  Preston's  brother 
in-law.     They  became  skilful  workmen,  and  were  employed  by  Colonel 


ANNALS   OF   AUGUSTA   COUNTY.  403 

Preston  to  build  the  dwelling  at  Smithfield.  They  served  as  soldiers 
during  the  Revolution,  and  finally  settled  in  Kentucky.  (See  page  141.) 
Alexander  Breckenridge  married  the  widow  of  Colonel  John  Floyd,  a 
daughter  of  Colonel  John  Buchanan  and  grand-daughter  of  Colonel 
James  Patton.  Thus,  the  first  Governor  Floyd,  of  Virginia,  and  James 
D.  Breckenridge,  of  Kentucky,  were  half-brothers. 

Colonel  Preston  was  taken  ill  at  a  regimental  muster,  June  28,  1783, 
and  died  the  following  night.  He  was  five  feet,  eleven  inches  in  height, 
inclined  to  corpulency,  of  ruddy  complexion,  with  light  hair  and  hazel 
eyes.  His  wife  survived  till  June  18,  1823,  having  lived  a  widow  forty 
years. 

Mrs.  Floyd  was  personally  acquainted  with  Mrs.  Mary  Ingles,  and 
gives  a  detailed  account  of  her  adventures.  She  states  that  Mrs.  Ingles 
gave  birth  to  a  female  child  three  months  after  her  capture,  and  not 
three  days,  as  stated  by  Dr.  Hale  and  repeated  on  page  74.  In  other 
respects  her  account  is  substantially  the  same  as  that  given  in  the 
Annals.  But  a  great-grand-daughter  of  Mrs.  Ingles  earnestly  denies 
the  correctness  of  the  whole  report  in  regard  to  the  birth  and  desertion 
of  an  infant.  She  says  "  such  a  thing  did  happen  "  to  Mrs.  Rebecca 
Davidson,  an  acquaintance  of  Mrs.  Ingles's,  and  that  Mrs.  Floyd  fell  into 
the  error  of  attributing  to  the  one  what  occurred  to  the  other.  Mrs. 
Charlton,  the  only  surviving  grand-child  of  Mrs.  Ingles,  was  fourteen 
years  old  when  her  grandmother  died,  but  never  heard  the  story  of  the 
infant  until  it  was  mentioned  by  Mrs.  Floyd.  Mrs.  Ingles  died  in  1813, 
aged  eighty-four. 

We  find  in  Mrs.  Floyd's  narrative  a  brief  account  of  the  assault  by 
Indians  on  the  house  of  David  Cloyd,  which  is  referred  to  on  page  126. 
Colonel  William  Preston,  who  then  lived  at  Greenfield,  had  gone  to 
Staunton,  in  March,  1764,  when  one  day,  early  in  the  morning,  Mrs. 
Preston  was  startled  by  the  report  of  two  guns  in  quick  succession  in 
the  direction  of  a  neighbor's  house  half  a  mile  distant.  Presently 
Joseph  Cloyd  rode  up  on  a  plow-horse  with  the  gearing  on  and  related 
that  Indians  had  killed  his  brotiier  John,  had  shot  at  him  (the  powder 
burning  his  shirt),  and  having  gone  to  the  house  had  probably  killed 
his  mother.  Mrs.  Preston  immediately  sent  a  young  man  who  lived  at 
her  house  to  notify  the  garrison  of  a  small  fort  on  Craig's  Creek,  and 
then  despatched  a  white  man  and  two  negroes  to  Mr.  Cloyd's.  The 
latter  found  Mrs.  Cloyd  tomahawked  in  three  places,  but  still  alive  and 
conscious.  She  told  about  the  assault  by  the  Indians,  their  getting 
drunk,  ripping  up  the  feather  beds,  and  carrying  off"  the  money.  One 
of  the  Indians  wiped  the  blood  from  her  temples  with  a  corn-cob, 
saying,  "  Poor  old  woman  !  "  She  died  the  next  morning.  The  sequel 
of  the  story,  as  far  as  known,  is  given  on  page  126. 


404  SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE 

The  Floyds.— It  is  stated  on  page  74  that  Colonel  John  Buchanan's 
wife  (a  daughter  of  Colonel  James  Fatten)  had  only  one  child  at  the 
date  of  Colonel  Patton's  will.  Another  daugnter,  named  Jane,  was  born 
afterwards  and  became  the  wife  of  Colonel  John  Floyd  and  mother  of 
the  first  Governor  Floyd. 

The  first  Floyds  in  America  were  two  brothers  who  came  from 
Wales  to  Accomac  county,  Virginia.  William  Floyd,  a  son  of  one  of 
these  brothers,  married  Abadiah  Davis,  of  Amherst  county,  who  was 
of  Indian  descent.  John  Floyd,  a  son  of  this  couple,  was  born  about 
1750.  At  about  eighteen  years  of  age  he  married  a  Miss  Burwell,  who 
was  fourteei;  years  old,  and  died  in  a  few  months.  Ten  years  after- 
wards he  married  Jane  Buchanan,  a  second  cousin  of  Colonel  William 
Preston.  From  1772  to  1776  Colonel  Preston  was  county  surveyor  of 
Fincastle  county,  which  embraced  all  Kentucky.  He  appointed  John 
Floyd  one  of  his  deputies  and  sent  him  to  survey  lands  on  the  Ohio 
river,  which  led  to  the  settlement  of  the  latter  in  Kentucky.  His  son, 
John,  was  born  near  Louisville,  April  24,  1783,  came  to  Virginia  when  he 
was  twenty-one  years  of  age,  served  in  the  Legislature  and  Congress, 
was  Governor  from  1829  to  1834,  and  died  in  1837,  aged  fifty-four.  The 
late  John  B.  Floyd,  also  Governor,  etc.,  etc.,  was  a  son  of  the  first  Gov- 
ernor Floyd.     Their  home  was  in  Washington  county. 


THE  LOGANS. 


General  Benjamin  Logan's  parents  were  natives  of  Ireland,  but 
married  in  Pennsylvania.  Soon  after  their  marriage  they  removed  to 
Augusta  county,  and  here,  in  1743,  their  oldest  child,  Benjamin,  was 
born.  The  Rev.  John  Craig's  record  shows  that  Benjamin,  son  of  David 
Logan,  was  baptized  May  3,  1743.  When  young  Logan  was  fourteen 
years  of  age  his  father  died,  and  according  to  the  law  of  primogeniture 
then  in  force,  he  inherited  all  the  real  estate  which  had  been  acquired- 
Upon  coming  of  age,  however,  he  refused  to  appropriate  the  land  to 
himself,  and  after  providing  a  home  for  his  mother  and  her  younger 
children,  went  to  the  Holston.  His  wife  was  a  Miss  Montgomery.  He 
was  a  sergeant  in  Colonel  Henry  Bouquet's  e.xpedition  in  1764  (see  page 
124),  and  was  with  Dunmore  in  his  expedition  of  1774.  He  was  one  of 
the  people  of  the  Holston  settlement  who  signed  the  "call"  to  the  Rev. 
Charles  Cummings  to  become  their  pastor,  in  1773.  (See  page  52.)  In 
1775  he  went  to  Kentucky,  with  only  two  or  three  slaves,  and  established 
Logan's  Fort,  near  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Stanford,  Lincoln 
county.  His  family  removed  to  Kentucky  in  1776.  In  May,  1777,  the 
fort  was  invested,  for  several  weeks,  by  a  hundred  Indians.  As  the 
ammunition  of  the  small  garrison  was  becoming  exhausted,  Logan,  with 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  405 

two  companions,  repaired  for  a  supply  to  the  Holston  settlement  and 
returned  in  ten  days.  In  1779  he  was  second  in  command  of  an  expe- 
dition against  the  Indian  town  of  Chillicothe,  which  terminated  rather 
disastrously.  He  was  in  full  march  to  reinforce  tlie  whites  at  the  Blue 
Licks,  in  1782,  when  that  fatal  battle  occurred,  but  could  only  receive 
and  protect  the  fugitives  from  the  field.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Kentucky  Conventions  of  1792  and  1799,  and  repeatedly  a  member  of 
the  State  Legislature.  Logan  county,  Kentucky,  was  called  for  him. 
(Collins's  History  of  Kentucky,  Volume  II,  page  482.) 

William  Logan,  oldest  son  of  General  Logan,  born  where  Harrods- 
burg  now  stands,  December  8,  1776,  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  white 
child  born  in  Kentucky.  He  became  a  Judge  of  the  Kentucky  Court  of 
Appeals  and  a  Senator  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  His  death 
occurred  August  8,  1822.     (Collins,  Volume  II,  page  713.) 

To  the  Rev.  Robert  Logan,  of  Fort  Worth,  Texas,  we  are  indebted 
for  some  further  information  in  regard  to  his  family.  Mr.  Logan  thinks 
the  ancestor  who  came  to  America  was  named  James.  He  belonged  to 
a  Scotch  family  which  had  removed  to  Lurgan,  in  Ireland.  LTpon  com- 
ing to  the  Valley,  he  settled  near  New  Providence  church,  in  what  is 
now  Rockbridge  county.  The  names  of  only  two  of  his  children  are 
known — Benjamin  and  James.  The  former,  after  his  father's  death,  on 
coming  of  age,  settled  his  mother  and  her  younger  children  on  Kerr's 
Creek,  and  went  himself  to  the  Holston,  as  related.  The  family  resided 
on  Kerr's  Creek  in  i763-'4,  but,  as  far  as  known,  none  of  them  were 
killed  or  captured  by  the  Indians  in  those  years. 

James  Logan  remained  with  his  mother.  His  wife  was  Hannah  Irvin, 
the  daughter  of  a  Presbyterian  minister,  and  he  had  eight  sons  and 
four  daughters. 

John  Logan,  one  of  the  sons  of  James  and  Hannah,  married  Rachel 
McPheeters,  daughter  of  William  McPheeters,  and  sister  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  McPheeters.  He  lived  near  Greenville,  Augusta  county,  and  was 
long  an  Elder  in  Bethel  Church.  Among  his  children  were  a  son  named 
Eusebius,  a  minister,  who  died  in  1827;  the  Rev.  Robert  Logan,  of  Fort 
Worth ;  and  Joseph  A.  Logan,  and  Mrs.  Theophilus  Gamble,  deceased, 
of  Augusta. 

Alexander  Logan,  also  a  son  of  James  and  Hannah,  moved  to  Ken- 
tucky. One  of  his  sons  was  a  minister,  and  his  son  is  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  V, 
Logan,  now  President  of  Central  University  at  Richmond,  Kentucky. 

Robert  Logan,  another  son,  was  a  Presbyterian  minister  who  lived 
many  years  and  died  at  Fincastle,  Virginia.  He  was  the  father  of  the 
late  John  B.  I.  Logan,  of  Salem,  Roanoke  countv. 

Joseph  D.  Logan,  a  fourth  son,  was  a  Presbyterian  minister.  His  first 
wife  was  Jane  Dandridge,  a  descendant  of  Pocahontas,  who  left  one 
son.  His  second  wife  was  Louisa  Lee,  one  of  whose  children  is  Dr. 
Joseph  P.  Logan,  of  Atlanta,  Georgia. 

Benjamin  Logan,  a  fifth  son  of  James  and  Hannah,  was  the  father  of 
the  late  J.  A.  Logan,  of  Staunton. 


406  SUPPLEMENT   TO   THE 

A  daughter  of  James  and  Hannah  Logan,  whose  name  is  not  known, 
was  the  wife  of  the  school  teacher,  McKinney,  at  Lexington,  Kentucky, 
who  had  the  conflict  with  a  wildcat,  of  which  there  is  an  account  in 
McClung's  "  Western  Adventure."  Sitting  alone  in  his  log-cabin  school- 
house  one  morning  in  May,  1783,  McKinney  discovered  a  wildcat  glaring 
in  at  the  door.  Before  he  could  arm  himself  with  a  heavy  ruler,  the 
animal  was  upon  him,  with  its  teeth  fastened  in  his  side  and  its  claws 
tearing  his  clothing.  By  pressing  the  cat  against  the  sharp  edge  of  a 
desk  he  succeeded  in  overcoming  it,  just  as  the  people,  aroused  by  the 
mingled  cries  of  the  man  and  beast,  came  to  the  rescue. 


COLONEL  WILLIAM  FLEMING. 


Having  fallen  into  some  errors  in  regard  to  Colonel  Fleming  (see 
page  no)  we  give  the  following  sketch,  being  indebted  to  one  of  his 
descendants  for  some  of  the  facts. 

In  August,  1755,  the  month  after  Braddock's  defeat,  William  Fleming 
landed  in  Norfolk.  He  was  educated  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh, 
and  served  for  some  years  as  a  surgeon  in  the  British  Navy.  Not  liking 
that  profession  he  resigned  and  came  to  Virginia.  As  we  have  seen 
(page  83),  he  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Sandy  Creek  expedition  of  1756 
and  acted  as  surgeon.  He  was  afterwards  appointed  ensign  in  the 
First  Virginia  Regiment,  commanded  by  Washington.  In  1758,  he  was 
commissioned  lieutenant,  and  served  in  the  campaigns  of  Forbes  and 
Abercroinbie.  He  was  made  captain  in  1760  and  stationed  at  Staunton, 
it  is  said.  After  his  marriage,  in  1763,  he  resumed  at  Staunton  the 
practice  of  medicine  and  surgery. 

Captain  Fleming  (so  called  in  the  record-book)  was  chosen  a  Vestry- 
man of  Augusta  parish,  November  24,  1764,  in  place  of  John  Mathews, 
deceased,  and  continued  to  serve  in  that  office  till  June  27,  1769.  The 
records  of  the  Vestry  show  that  he  was  repeatedly  allowed  payment  of 
bills  for  professional  services  to  the  poor,  and  from  his  private  account 
books  it  appears  that  he  was  often  called  to  visit  patients  in  Bedford 
county.  In  the  fall  of  1769  he  removed  to  the  new  county  of  Botetourt, 
of  which  he  was  one  of  the  first  justices  of  the  peace.     (See  page  131). 

He  commanded  the  Botetourt  regiment  at  Point  Pleasant  in  1774. 
In  1779- '80  he  was  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress  at  Phila- 
delphia, and  was  the  only  person  from  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  who  sat 
in  that  body.  Being  a  member  of  the  Governor's  Council  in  1781,  he 
acted  as  chief  executive  of  the  State  for  a  time  during  that  year,  in  the 
temporary  absence  from  Richmond  of  Mr.  Jefferson 

It  is  said  that  he  was  repeatedly  sent  by  the  Government  to  Kentucky 
as  commissioner  to  settle  land  claims,  etc.,  but  never  removed  from 
Virginia.     His  death  occurred  in  1795,  at  his  residence,  called  Bellmont, 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  407 

near  the  present  town  of  Roanoke,  and  his  remains  were  interred  there 
in  the  family  burying-ground. 


THE  ESTILLS. 


Wallace  Estill,  of  Irish  descent,  was  born  in  New  Jersey  in  1707. 
His  first  wife  was  Marcy  Bowdy.  After  the  birth  of  five  children  he 
removed  with  his  family  to  Augusta  county,  between  1744  and  1747,  and 
a  sixth  child  was  born  here. 

Benjamin  Estill,  the  second  son  of  Wallace  and  Marcy,  was  born 
September  20,  1735,  married,  in  Augusta,  Kitty  Moffett  (see  elsewhere 
in  this  Supplement),  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  1764,  and  afterwards 
removed  to  the  Holston.  His  sons  were  Captain  John  M.  Estill,  of 
Long  Glade,  Augusta  county,  and  Judge  Benjamin  Estill,  of  Southwest 
Virginia. 

Wallace  Estill  married  a  second  time  Mary  Ann  Campbell,  of  Augusta. 
By  this  marriage  he  had  nine  children,  among  them,  James,  born 
November  9,  1750,  and  Samuel,  born  September  10,  1755. 

James  Estill  married  in  Augusta,  Rachel  Wright,  and  removed  to 
Greenbrier.  Before  the  year  1780,  he  removed  from  Greenbrier  to 
Kentucky,  and  settled  at  Estill's  Station,  in  the  present  county  of  Madi- 
son. In  1781  one  of  his  arms  was  broken  by  the  rifle-shot  of  an  Indian, 
and  before  he  had  fully  recovered  from  the  injury  he  was  engaged  in  a 
memorable  conflict  with  the  savages  and  lost  his  life.  At  the  head  of 
about  twenty-five  men,  in  March,  1782,  he  pursued  the  same  number  of 
Wyandotts  across  the  Kentucky  river  into  what  is  now  Montgomery 
county  The  battle  was  fought  on  the  site  of  the  town  of  Mount  Ster- 
ling, and  is  known  as  the  "Battle  of  Little  Mountain,"  or  "Estill's 
Defeat."  During  the  battle,  which  was  unusually  protracted,  a  panic 
seized  a  part  of  the  whites  and  they  deserted  their  comrades.  The  loss 
of  the  Indians  was  greater  than  that  of  the  whites,  but  they  held  the 
field  and  the  victory  was  conceded  to  them.  The  battle-field  has  been 
surveyed  and  platted  at  least  three  times  in  as  many  law-suits  about 
land  locations,  and  almost  every  incident  of  the  fight  noted  on  the  sur- 
veys. On  one  of  the  maps  a  spot  is  indicated  as  the  place  where 
Captain  Estill  fell.  The  depositions  in  the  suits,  taken  while  the  survi- 
vors of  the  battle  lived,  give  a  minute  history  of  the  affair  and  the 
transactions  of  several  following  days.  A  county  in  Kentucky  was 
called  for  Captain  Estill.  (Collins's  History  of  Kentucky,  Volume  II, 
pages  168,  636). 

Samuel  Estill,  younger  brother  of  James,  married  Jane  Tess.and  also 
went  to  Kentucky.  He  was  celebrated  in  his  youth  as  an  Indian  fighter, 
and  for  his  great  size  in  his  latter  years.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he 
weighed  412  pounds. 


408  SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE 

Colonel  William  Whitley  was  born  in  that  part  of  Augusta  which 
now  constitutes  Rockbridge  county,  August  14,  1749-  He  married 
Esther  Fuller,  and  in  177.S  removed  to  Kentucky,  taking  with  him  little 
more  than  his  gun,  axe  and  kettle.  His  brother-in-law,  George  Clark, 
accompanied  him,  and  in  the  wilderness  they  met  seven  other  men  who 
joined  them.  He  became  a  famous  Indian  fighter  and  during  his  life 
was  engaged  in  seventeen  battles  with  the  savages.  His  last  expedition 
of  this  kind,  organized  by  him,  was  against  the  Indians  south  of 
the  Tennessee-river.  It  is  known  as  the  "  the  Nickajack  Expedition," 
from  the  name  of  the  principal  town  against  which  it  was  directed. 
The  number  of  whites  engaged  was  from  five  hundred  to  seven 
hundred,  and  the  Indians  were  routed  with  great  slaughter.  In  1813 
Colonel  Whitley,  then  in  the  sixty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  volunteered 
under  Governor  Shelby,  and  fell  at  the  battle  of  the  Thames,  October 
5.  He  was  selected  by  Colonel  Richard  M.  Johnson  to  command  a 
"forlorn  hope  "  of  twenty  men,  nearly  all  of  whom  were  killed.  It  is 
believed  by  many  persons  that  Whitley,  and  not  Colonel  Johnson, 
killed  Tecumseh,  the  celebrated  Indian  chief,  in  that  battle.  Whitley 
county,  Kentucky,  was  called  for  him.     (Collins's  History  of  Kentucky). 


THE   MOFFETTS. 


At  an  early  day  in  the  history  of  the  county  there  were  two  families 
of  this  name  in  Augusta,  which,  as  far  as  their  respective  descendants 
know,  were  not  at  all  related.  The  ancestor  of  both  families  was 
named  John.  One  of  these  John  Moffetts  was  buried  in  the  North 
Mountain  grave-yard.  (See  page  153.)  His  son,  William,  whose  wife 
was  Elizabeth  Gamble  (see  page  187),  was  for  many  years  a  leading 
citizen  of  the  county.  Some  of  the  descendants  of  James'  Moffett, 
brother  of  William,  reside  in  the  Tinkling  Spring  neighborhood  and  in 
Rockbridge. 

The  prominent  representative  in  the  county  of  the  other  family  was 
Colonel  George  Moffett,  who  is  often  mentioned  in  the  Annals,  and  to 
some  members  of  this  family  we  here  particularly  refer. 

John  Moffett,  the  ancestor,  was  amongst  the  first  settlers  of  the  county. 
His  wife's  maiden  name  was  Mary  Christian,  and  his  children  were 
George,  Robert,  William,  John,  Mary,  Kitty  and  Hannah.  At  some 
time  prior  to  1749 — probably  as  early  as  1742 — he  left  his  home  in 
Augusta  to  go  to  North  Carolina,  and  was  never  heard  of  afterwards. 
In  the  course  of  time  he  was  presumed  to  be  dead,  probably  killed  by 
Indians,  and  his  widow,  Mary  Moffett,  qualified  as  his  administratrix, 
February  28,  1749,  executing  bond  in  the  penalty  of  ^500,  with  her 
brothers,  Robert  and  William  Christian,  as  her  securities.     Mrs.  Moffett 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  409 

contracted  a  second  marriage  with  John  Trimble,  by  whom  she  had  one 
son,  James  Trimble.     (See  "The  Trimbles.") 

For  a  sketch  of  Colonel  George  Moffett  see  page  191.  Two  of  his 
brothers  removed  to  Kentucky  in  1783,  with  their  half-brother,  James 
Trimble  and  many  other  Augusta  people.  Robert  Moffett,  one  of  the 
two,  settled  in  Jessamine  county.  He  had  two  sons,  John  and  George, 
who  were  captured  by  Indians  soon  after  their  arrival  in  Kentucky, 
The  ages  of  the  boys  were  about  six  and  eight  years,  respectively. 
They  were  taken  to  the  Indian  town  of  Piqua,  on  the  Miami  river,  in 
Ohio,  and  John  was  adopted  into  the  family  of  Tecumseh's  mother. 
y\t  Wayne's  treaty,  in  1794,  these  prisoners  were  given  up,  and  their 
father  was  present  with  the  Kentucky  troops  to  receive  back  his  long- 
lost  sons.  George,  the  younger  of  the  two,  was  eager  to  return  home ; 
but  John  was  reluctant  to  leave  his  Indian  mother  and  friends.  He 
went  back,  however,  with  his  father,  but  was  restless  and  unhappy  and 
finally  returned  to  Piqua.  There  he  remained  with  the  Indians  till  they 
sold  their  reservation  and  removed  west  of  the  Mississippi  river. 

The  late  John  A.  Trimble,  of  Ohio,  in  a  letter  dated  March  31,  1881, 
and  addressed  to  Dr.  George  B.  Moffett,  of  West  Virginia,  says  that 
when  he  was  a  child,  in  1807,  he  saw  John  Moffett,  who  was  then  on  his 
return  from  a  visit  to  Kentucky.  He  was  in  the  vigor  of  manhood, 
dressed  in  Indian  costume  and  traveling  on  foot.  Mr.  Trimble  saw  him 
again  in  1828,  at  his  home  near  Piqua.  He  had  lived  during  his  boyhood 
and  youth  with  Tecumseh,  the  celebrated  Indian  chief,  and  seemed 
much  attached  to  him.  At  the  time  of  Mr.  Trimble's  visit,  Moffett  had 
recently  married  an  elderly  lady  and  settled  down  to  civilized  life.  But 
in  his  early  life  he  had  an  Indian  wife.     Mr.  Trimble  says  : 

"  I  was  descending  the  Mississippi  in  1819,  and  landed  at  a  point 
below  Memphis  called  Mills's  Landing.  Mr.  Mills,  the  pioneer  settler 
there,  had  a  trading  post  with  the  Mississippi  Indians,  who  were 
encamped  about  the  post.  My  brother,  Gary  Trimble,  was  with  me. 
Mr.  Mills,  hearing  we  were  from  Kentucky,  claimed  relationship,  his 
wife  being  a  grand-daughter  of  Robert  Moff'ett,  of  Woodford.  We 
were  invited  to  his  house  and  my  brother  at  once  recognized  Mrs.  Mills 
as  a  relative  whom  he  had  known  fifteen  years  before  in  Kentucky.  She 
related  a  strange  surprise  she  had  a  few  evenings  before  from  a  very  old 
Indian  woman.  She  had  noticed  for  several  days  the  manners  of  this 
woman  and  her  close  scrutiny  and  eager  gaze  as  she  would  meet  her. 
At  last  she  came  up  to  her,  exclaiming:  'Moffett!  you  are  MoflTettl' 
Somewhat  startled,  she  called  to  Mr.  Mills,  who  understood  the  Indian 
language,  and  he  learned  that  the  woman  was  the  repudiated  wife  of 
John  Moffett,  a  prisoner  among  the  Indians  at  Piqua,  '  long  time  ago. 
The  woman  said  she  knew  Mrs.  Mills  from  her  likeness  to  her  uncle 
when  he  was  a  boy.  She  said  also  that  she  had  a  son,  Wicomichee,  a 
young  Indian  chief,  so  called  '  because  his  father  left  him.'  " 

Mr.  Trimble  says  further,  that  during  the  Black  Hawk  war  of  1833,  in 
Northern  Illinois,  Wicomichee  was  employed  by  General  Atkinson  to 


410  SUPPLEMENT    TO   THE 

recover  the  captive  daughters  of  Dr.  Hull,  of  Illinois  or  Missouri,  and 
that  he  did  find  and  bring  them  into  camp  to  their  father. 


THE  ALLENS. 


James  Allen  (see  page  91)  was  the  oldest  son  of  Wiliam  Allen,  who 
came  from  Ireland  and  settled  in  Augusta,  but  at  what  date  is  unknown. 
A  brother  of  William  was  the  grandfather  of  Dr.  Alien  who  long 
resided  and  practiced  medicine  in  the  Stone  Church  neighborhood. 

It  is  believed  that  James  Allen  was  seven  years  old  at  the  date  of  the 
emigration  to  America.     His  brothers,  Hugh  and  John,  were  born  here. 

James  and  Hugh  married  sisters,  daughters  of  Robert  Anderson,  a 
native  of  Ireland.  John  Allen,  it  is  said,  was  a  lieutenant  at  Brad- 
dock's  defeat,  and  was  "  lost"  in  that  disaster.  Hugh  was  a  lieutenant 
in  Colonel  Charles  Lewis's  regiment  at  Point  Pleasant,  in  1774.  He 
was  killed  in  the  battle  and  his  body  was  buried  by  the  side  of  Colonel 
Lewis's  remains.  He  had  three  sons,  John,  William  and  Hugh,  all  of 
whom  removed  to  Kentucky. 

[The  widow  of  Lieutenant  Hugh  Allen,  whose  maiden  name  was  Jane 
Anderson,  contracted  a  second  marriage,  in  1778,  with  William  Craig, 
born  in  1750  and  died  in  1829.  The  children  of  William  and  Jane 
Craig,  who  lived  to  maturity,  were,  i.  Jane,  wife  of  James  Patterson,  of 
Augusta;  2.  James  Craig,  of  Mt.  Meridian,  died  in  1863;  3.  Sarah,  wife 
of  James  Laird,  of  Rockingham  ;  and  4.  Margaret,  last  wife  of  James 
Bell,  of  Augusta.] 

James  Allen  lived  near  the  place  now  called  Willow  Spout,  on  the 
McAdamized  road,  about  eight  miles  north  of  Staunton.  As  we  have 
seen,  he  was  a  captain  of  militia  in  1756.  He  participated  in  the  battle 
of  Point  Pleasant,  saw  his  brother  Hugh  killed,  and  placed  a  stone  at 
his  grave.  He  died  in  1810  ninety-four  years  of  age,  having  been  an 
elder  of  Augusta  Stone  Church  for  sixty-four  years. 

James  and  Margaret  Allen  had  ten  children,  two  sons  and  eight 
daughters,  viz  : 

I.  Jane  Allen,  wife  of  Captain  James  Trimble,  who  removed  to  Ken- 
tucky in  1783,  accompanied  by  the  sons  of  Hugh  Allen  and  many  others. 
(See  ''  The  Trimbles.") 

II.  Ann  Allen,  wife  of  Colonel  George  Poage,  who  removed  from 
the  county.  Their  children  were,  i.  Allen;  2.  John;  3.  William;  4. 
Jane  ;  5.  Mary  ;  6.  James  ;  7.  Thomas,  and  8.  Hugh. 

III.  Elizabeth,  wife  of  the  Rev.  John  McCue.     (See  page  239.) 

IV.  Rebecca,  wife  of  Major  John  Crawford.     (See  "  The  Crawfords.") 

V.  Margaret,  wife  of  Major  William  Bell.     (See  "  The  Bells.") 

VI.  Mary,  wife  of  Colonel  Nicholas  Lewis,  who  removed  to  Kentucky. 

VII.  Nancy,  wife  of  Captain  Samuel  Frame,  whose  children  were,  r. 
John  ;  2.  Thomas  ;  and  3.  Nancy. 


ANNALS   OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  411 

VIII.  Sarah,  first  wife  of  James  Bell,  and  mother  of  Colonel  William 
A.  Bell. 

IX.  William  Allen,  married  Susan  Bell,  of  Kentucky,  and  removed 
to  Kentucky  in  17S3  with  Captain  James  Trimble  and  others.  He  set- 
tled at  Lexington  and  had  six  children.  His  oldest  daughter  married 
Matthew  Jouett,  the  artist,  and  her  oldest  daughter  was  the  wife  of 
Richard  Menifee,  the  celebrated  Kentucky  orator.  Another  daughter 
married  Dr.  Alexander  Mitchell,  of  Frankfort,  and  one  of  her  daugh- 
ters married  Oliver  Frazer,  the  artist.  One  of  Captain  William  Allen's 
sons  was  Colonel  William  H.  Allen,  formerly  of  Augusta  county,  and 
another  was  Colonel  James  Allen,  of  Missouri. 

X.  James  Allen,  wiio  married  Elizabeth  Tate.  Their  children  were 
I.  William,  who  married  a  Miss  Poage ;  2.  John,  who  married,  ist, 
Polly  Crawford,  and,  2d,  Ann  Barry,  widow  of  Dr.  William  McCue,  and 
removing  to  Michigan,  was  the  founder  of  Ann  Arbor,  so  named  for 
his  wife;  3.  Mary,  wife  of  Captain  John  Welsh,  4.  Margaret,  second 
wife  of  Major  William  Poage,  of  Augusta  ;  5  Nancy,  wife  of  Charles 
Lewis;  6.  Sarah,  wife  of  George  Mayse,  of  Bath  county,  and  7.  James 
T.  Allen,  who  married  Miss  Maynard,  of  Michigan. 


THE  TRIMBLES. 


Five  brothers,  James,  Moses,  David,  John  and  Alexander  Trimble, 
came  to  America  from  Armagh,  Ireland,  some  time  between  1740  and 
1744.    James  and  John  settled  in  Augusta  county. 

I.  James  Trimble  brought  with  him  to  America  a  certificate  of  a  Sir 
Archibald  Atkinson  testifying  to  his  good  character  and  qualifications 
as  a  land  surveyor.  Upon  the  organization  of  Augusta  county,  in 
December,  1745,  he  was  appointed  and  qualified  as  deputy  county  sur- 
veyor. He  married  Sarah  Kersey,  of  the  Cowpasture,  and  lived  near 
the  site  of  Lexington.  His  remains  were  interred  in  the  Old  Monmouth 
graveyard.  His  children  were  six  sons  and  four  daughters.  Jane,  the 
oldest  daughter,  married  William  McClure;  Agnes  married  David 
Steele,  ancestor  of  the  Rockbridge  family  of  that  name  ;  Sarah  married 
Samuel  Steele  and  removed  with  him  to  Tennessee,  and  Rachel  mar- 
ried Joseph  Caruthers,  who  also  went  west. 

John  Trimble,  son  of  James,  was  born  August  24,  1749,  and  married 
Mary  Alexander,  a  daughter  of  Captain  Archibald  Alexander  by  his 
second  wife.  (See  "  The  Alexanders.")  Like  his  father,  he  was  a  sur- 
veyor. He  died  while  still  a  young  man,  leaving  one  son,  named  James, 
born  July  5,  17S1,  who  went  with  his  mother  to  Tennessee,  after  her 
•second  marriage  to  Lewis  Jordan.  This  son,  James,  came  back  to  Vir- 
ginia, studied  law  with  Judge  Coalter  at  Staunton,  and   returning  to 


412  SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE 

Tennessee,  practiced  his  profession  at  Knoxville  and  Nashville.  He  died 
in  1824.     A  son  of  his,  named  John,  was  recently  living  near  Nashville. 

Alexander  Trimble,  another  son  of  James,  was  born  February  15, 
1762,  married  Martha  Grigsby,  and  died  in  1816,  leaving  no  child.  He 
lived  at  a  place  called  Holly  Hill,  three  miles  east  of  Lexington.  His 
widow,  a  woman  of  rare  intelligence,  survived  him  for  more  than  fifty 
years.  To  a  letter  addressed  by  her  in  1845  to  John  Trimble,  of  Nash- 
ville, we  are  indebted  for  most  of  this  family  history. 

William  Trimble,  youngest  son  of  James,  was  sheriff  of  Rockbridge, 
and  died  in  Staunton  in  1794,  when  on  his  way  to  Richmond  with  taxes 
collected  by  him. 

II.  John  Trimble,  brother  of  James,  the  surveyor,  settled  in  Augusta 
on  Middle  river,  about  two  miles  from  Churchville,  five  from  Buffalo 
Gap,  and  eight  from  Staunton.  He  married  Mrs.  Mary.Moffett,  widow 
of  John  Moffett,  and  mother  of  Colonel  George  Moffett  and  others. 
His  death  occurred  in  1764,  he  having  been  killed  by  Indians  at  the 
time  of  the  second  Kerr's  Creek  massacre.  (See  page  122).  His  widow 
and  his  brother,  James,  qualified  as  his  administrators,  November  20, 
1764.     He  had  one  son,  James. 

James  Trimble,  son  of  John,  was  born  in  Augusta  in  1756.  When  a 
boy  of  eight  years  of  age,  at  the  time  his  father  was  killed,  he  and 
others  were  captured  and  carried  off  by  Indians.  (For  an  account  of 
his  capture  and  rescue  see  elsewhere  in  this  Supplement.) 

On  the  i8th  of  March,  1768,  George  Moffett  qualified  in  the  County 
Court  as  guardian  of  "James  Trimble,  orphan  of  John  Trimble." 

When  eighteen  years  of  age,  in  1774,  James  Trimble  was  a  member 
of  Captain  George  Mathews's  company  at  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant. 
During  the  Revolutionary  war  he  was  Captain  of  Rifle  Rangers.  His 
second  wife  was  Jane  Allen,  daughter  of  Captain  James  Allen,  of 
Augusta.  (See  "The  Aliens,"  also  page  91  of  Annals).  In  1783  he 
with  his  family  and  many  others,  removed  to  Kentucky  and  settled 
in  Woodford  county.  He  liberated  his  slaves,  and  was  about  to  remove 
to  Hillsboro,  Ohio,  when  he  died,  in  1804. 

Captain  James  Trimble  and  his  wife,  Jane  Allen,  had  eight  children, 
six  sons  and  two  daughters.  One  of  the  daughters,  Margaret,  married 
her  cousin,  James  A.  McCue,  of  Augusta  (see  page  239),  and  spent  a 
long  and  honored  life  in  the  county.  The  other  daughter,  Mary,  mar- 
ried John  M.  Nelson,  a  native  of  Augusta,  but  long  a  resident  of 
Hillsboro,  Ohio.  (See  page  225).  Allen  Trimble,  oldest  son  of  Captain 
James  Trimble,  was  Governor  of  Ohio  from  1826  to  1830,  and  one  of 
his  sons  is  the  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  M.  Trimble,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  William  A.  Trimble,  another  son  of  Captain  James  Trimble, 
was  a  Major  in  the  war  of  1812,  Brevet  Lieutenant-Colonel  in  the  United 
States  Army  till  1819,  and  a  member  of  the  United  States  Senate  from 
Ohio  when  he  died,  in  1821,  aged  thirty-five  years.  John  A.  Trimble, 
of  Hillsboro,  the  youngest  son,  a  gentleman  of  literary  taste  and 
accomplishments,  married  a  daughter  of  Dr.  William  Boys,  of  Staunton. 


ANNALS   OF    AUGUSTA   COUNTY.  413 

The  large  and  respectable  Trimble  family  of  North  Mountain,  Augusta 
county,  of  which  the  late  James  B.  Trimble  was  a  prominent  member, 
are  not  related,  as  far  as  known,  to  the  family  of  James  and  John.  The 
John  Trimble  mentioned  as  living  in  the  North  Mountain  neighborhood 
in  1755  (see  page  66),  and  also  in  1775  (see  page  153),  was  probably  the 
ancestor  of  the  James  B.  Trimble  family. 

Judge  Robert  Trimble  and  his  brother.  Judge  John  Trimble,  were 
distinguished  citizens  of  Kentucky.  The  former  was  a  member  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  when  he  died,  in  1828.  A  sketch 
of  him  in  Peters's  Reports,  Volume  II,  says  that  he  was  born  in  Augusta 
county  in  1777 ;  but  all  the  Kentucky  authorities  state  that  he  was  a 
native  of  Berkeley  county,  Virginia.  He  was  probably  a  grandson  of 
one  of  the  three  emigrant  brothers  who  did  not  come  to  Augusta. 


Fort  Defiance  is  the  name  of  a  station  on  the  Valley  Railroad, 
about  nine  miles  north  of  Staunton.  The  name  has  given  rise  to  the 
belief  that  a  fort  stood  on  the  spot  during  the  Indian  wars  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.  Some  imaginative  or  credulous  persons  undertake  to 
tell  about  the  people  congregating  there  in  times  of  danger,  of  the 
investment  of  the  place  by  Indians,  and  of  its  defence  on  one  or  more 
occasions.  But  no  fort  was  ever  built  there,  and  the  name  is  of  com- 
paratively recent  origin.  For  this  statement  we  have  the  authority  of 
the  venerable  Adam  Link,  who  lived  at  the  place  and  conducted  the 
mercantile  business  there  for  many  years,  and  who  remembers  when 
the  name  originated.  The  old  stone  church,  four  or  five  hundred  yards 
south  of  "  Fort  Defiance,"  was  fortified  during  the  early  times  referred 
to,  but,  as  far  as  known,  was  never  assailed  by  an  enemy.  The  report 
that  there  was  a  subterranean  passage  from  the  church  to  the  spring  is 
entirely  untrue. 


THE  SMITHS. 


Captain  John  Smith,  the  ancestor  of  the  Augusta  and  Rockingham 
Smiths,  appeared  at  Orange  Court,  June  26,  1740,  and  "  proved  his  im- 
portation," with  the  view  of  taking  up  public  land.  The  record  shows 
that  his  wife's  name  was  Margaret,  and  that  his  children  were  Abraham, 
Henry,  Daniel,  John  and  Joseph.  They  came  from  Ireland  by  way  of 
Philadelphia,  and  were  accompanied  by  Robert  McDowell.  Captain 
Smith  and  others  qualified  as  captain  of  militia  at  Orange  Court,  June 
24,  1742.  We  next  hear  of  him  as  a  captain  of  rangers  in  1755.  (See 
page  76.) 

The  late  Benjamin  H.  Smith,  of  Kanawha,  a  great-grandson  of  Cap- 
3 


414  SUPPLEMENT   TO    THE 

tain  John  Smith,  relates  in  an  unpublished  manuscript  a  series  of  events 
in  the  life  of  his  ancestor,  of  which  there  is  elsewhere  no  account. 
According  to  this  narrative,  at  some  time  not  stated.  Captain  Smith, 
with  seventeen  men,  held  a  fort  where  Pattonsburg,  on  James  river,  now 
stands,  which  was  invested  by  three  hundred  French  and  Indians.  After 
a  brave  resistance  for  three  days,  the  garrison  agreed  to  surrender  the 
fort  upon  a  stipulation  allowing  them  to  return  to  their  homes.  Aston- 
ished and  mortified  at  finding  so  few  men  in  the  fort,  the  enemy  disre- 
garded the  terms  of  surrender  and  held  the  survivors,  only  nine  or  ten 
in  number,  as  prisoners.  Three  of  Captain  Smith's  sons  were  with  the 
party,  one  of  whom  was  wounded  during  the  siege  and  killed  by  an 
Indian  after  the  surrender.  The  prisoners  were  taken  by  the  French 
down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers  to  New  Orleans,  and  on  the  way 
the  two  young  Smiths,  who  had  survived  the  disaster  at  the  fort,  died. 
Only  five  of  the  prisoners  lived  to  reach  New  Orleans.  The  Captain 
and  two  others  were  sent  to  France,  and  he  alone  returned  to  America, 
after  an  absence  of  two  years. 

Whatever  foundation  there  may  be  for  this  story,  some  of  the  details 
are  certainly  incorrect.  There  was  a  fort,  so-called,  at  the  mouth  of 
Looney's  Creek,  a  mile  above  Pattonsburg,  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
there  never  was  an  inroad  into  the  Valley  of  three  hundred  French  and 
Indians.  The  only  Indian  raid  upon  the  "Pattonsburg  neighborhood,  of 
which  we  have  an  authentic  account,  occurred  in  1761.  (See  pages  107, 
108.) 

Captain  Smith  died  at  the  residence  of  his  son,  Daniel,  two  miles 
north  of  Harrisonburg,  after  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  war. 
He  applied  for  a  commission  in  the  army,  but  was  refused  on  account  of 
his  age,  which  greatly  offended  him  His  children  who  survived  him 
were  three  sons  and  one  daughter.  The  latter  married  Hugh  Bowen, 
of  Southwest  Virginia,  who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain. 

I.  Abraham  Smith,  son  of  John,  was  captain  of  militia  in  1756.  (See 
pages  91,  92.)  In  1758  he  was  court-martialed,  but  acquitted,  and  his 
accuser  subjected  to  punishment.  (See  page  103.)  In  1776  he  was 
colonel  of  militia.  (See  page  159.)  In  1778,  he  was  one  of  the  first 
justices  of  Rockingham  and  county  lieutenant.  He  owned  a  large 
landed  estate  at  the  foot  of  North  Mountain,  about  two  miles  from 
North  River,  which  descended  to  his  son  Henry. 

John  Smith,  son  of  Abraham,  was  an  ensign  at  Point  Pleasant.  He 
was  the  father  of  the  late  Abraham  Smith,  of  Rockingham,  of  Joseph 
and  Silas  H.  Smith,  of  Augusta,  and  of  a  daughter  named  Mancy, 
wife  of  William  Crawford.  (See  "The  Crawfords.")  His  wife  was 
Mary  Jane  Smith,  of  Culpeper,  a  descendant  of  the  Captain  Smith  who 
visited  the  Valley,  in  1716,  with  Governor  Spotswood.  Her  first  hus- 
band was  Silas  Hart,  who  died  without  children. 

II.  Daniel  Smith,  son  of  John,  was  for  some  time  presiding  justice  of 
the  County  Court  of  Augusta.  In  1776  he  was  captain  of  militia  (see 
page  159.)    When  Rockingham  county  was  organized  in  1778,  he  was 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  415 

one  of  the  first  justices  of  the  peace.  He  was  appointed  also  colonel 
of  militia  and  one  of  the  coroners.  The  first  County  Court  of  Rock- 
ingham was  held  at  his  house.  His  wife  was  Jane  Harrison,  sister  of 
Benjamin  Harrison,  of  Rockingham.  On  the  return  of  the  troops  from 
Yorktown,  the  victory  was  celebrated  by  the  military  of  Rockingham 
at  a  grand  review.  Colonel  Smith's  horse,  taking  fright  at  the  firing, 
.sprang  aside,  and  spraining  his  rider's  back,  caused  his  death  in  a  few 
days.     Three  of  his  sons  participated  in  the  siege  of  Yorktown,  viz: 

1.  John,  father  of  the  late  Judge  Daniel  Smith. 

2.  Daniel,  who  was  also  at  Point  Pleasant. 

3.  Benjamin,  father  of  Benjamin  Harrison  Smith,  of  Kanawha. 

III.  William  Smith,  son  of  John  and  brother  of  Abraham  and  Daniel. 
His  family  went  to  Kentucky  and  have  been  lost  sight  of  by  their  Vir- 
ginia relatives. 

The  Harrisons,  of  Rockingham,  were  intimately  connected  with  the 
Smiths,  but  the  early  history  of  the  former  family  is  involved  in  much 
obscurity.  They  are  said  to  have  come  from  Connecticut,  and  to  have 
been  descendants  of  Thomas  Harrison,  one  of  the  judges  who  con- 
demned King  Charles  I  to  death.  We  find,  that  on  July  27,  1744,  the 
Rev.  John  Craig  baptized  Elizabeth  H(?rison,  "  an  adult  person  "  ;  and 
on  January  21,  1747,  he  baptized  David  Stuart  and  Abigal  Harrison, 
"adult  persons,  after  profession  of  faith  and  obedience."  It  is  pre- 
sumed that  the  females  mentioned  were  members  of  the  Harrison 
family.  John  and  Reuben  Harrison  are  mentioned  under  date  of  1750, 
on  page  46.  Our  information  is  that  they  were  brothers.  John  never 
married,  and  was  killed  by  his  slaves.  Reuben  married,  and  had  several 
children.  Captain  Daniel  Harrison  is  mentioned  in  1755  (page  78),  and 
again  in  1756  (pages  91  and  92).  Nathaniel  Harrison  was  fined  by  the 
court-martial  of  Augusta  county,  October  30,  176(1,  for  failing  to  mus- 
ter. How  Daniel  and  Nathaniel  were  related  to  Reuben,  is  not  known. 
Thomas  Harrison,  the  founder  of  Harrisonburg,  the  son  of  Reuben, 
left  four  sons :  Ezekiel,  Reuben,  John  and  Josiah,  and  one  daughter, 
who  married  a  Warren.  The  present  Reuben  Harrison,  of  Rocking- 
ham, is  a  son  of  Reuben  and  grandson  of  Thomas. 

Benjamin  Harrison,  of  Rockingham,  was  a  member  of  the  Augusta 
court-martial,  April  19,  1769,  and  in  1774  commanded  a  company  at 
Point  Pleasant.  In  July,  1775,  he  was  appointed  captain  of  a  company 
of  minute-men.  When  Rockingham  was  organized,  in  1778,  he  was 
appointed  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  militia  of  that  county.  According 
to  the  information  we  have,  he  was  not  related  to  the  family  of  Reuben 
and  Daniel  Harrison,  but  came  from  Eastern  Virginia,  probably  Lou- 
doun county. 

Dr.  Peachy  R.  Harrison,  long  an  eminent  citizen  of  Rockingham,  was 
a  son  of  Colonel  Benjamin  Harrison,  and  the  youngest  of  eight  children. 
He  was  born  in  1777,  and  died  in  1848.  His  wife  was  Jane  Stuart,  a 
daughter  of  John  Stuart,  who  lived  near  the  Stone  church,  Augusta. 


416  SUPPLEMENT   TO   THE 

The  distinguished  Dr.  Gessner  Harrison,  Professor  of  Ancient  Lan- 
guages at  the  University  of  Virginia,  was  the  second  son  of  Dr.  Peachy 
R.  Harrison.  He  was  appointed  professor  at  the  age  of  twenty-one, 
and  held  the  position  thirty  years. 

Jg®""  In  mentioning  the  denial  by  one  of  Mrs.  Ingles's  descendants  of 
the  birth  of  an  infant,  etc.,  during  Mrs.  L's  captivity,  we  must  not  be 
understood  as  questioning  the  historical  accuracy  of  Dr.  Hale.  (See 
"  Mrs.  Floyd's  Narrative.")  He  is,  no  doubt,  better  informed  in  regard 
to  the  matter  than  any  one  else. 


THE  ALEXANDERS  AND  WILSONS. 


Archibald  Alexander,  the  Captain  in  the  Sandy  Creek  e.xpedition, 
first  sheriff  of  Rockbridge,  &c.  (see  pages  83  and  164),  was  born  in 
County  Down,  Ireland,  in  1708,  and  there  married  his  cousin,  Margaret 
Parks.  Their  oldest  child,  a  daughter,  was  born  in  Ireland,  in  1735. 
Coming  to  America,  in  1737,  he  settled  first  at  Nottingham,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  four  more  children  were  born,  including  William,  the 
oldest  son.  About  the  year  1747  the  family  came  to  the  Valley  and 
settled  in  Borden's  grant,  on  Timber  Ridge.  The  wife  of  Captain 
Alexander  died  in  1753.  At  the  time  of  his  wife's  death.  Captain  Alex- 
ander was  in  Pennsylvania,  having  gone  there,  with  John  Houston,  to 
present  a  call  to  the  Rev.  John  Brown  to  become  pastor  of  New  Provi- 
dence and  Timber  Ridge  congregations.  Before  Mr.  Brown's  arrival, 
the  celebrated  Samuel  Davies  visited  the  Valley  and  preached  at  Tim- 
ber Ridge.  No  doubt  to  the  surprise  and  dissatisfaction  of  the  plain 
Scotch-Irish  people  of  the  Valley,  Mr.  Davies  carried  a  gold-headed 
cane  and  wore  a  finger-ring,  which  had  been  presented  to  him  in  Eng- 
land. Most  of  the  original  members  of  New  Providence  and  Timber 
Ridge  churches,  including  Archibald  Alexander,  had  been  converted 
in  Pennsylvania,  under  the  preaching  of  George  Whitefield,  and  were 
called  "  New  Lights."  In  1757  he  married  his  second  wife,  Jane  McClure. 
Her  children  were  five  sons  and  three  daughters.  Of  Archibald  Alex- 
ander's children,  six  sons  and  six  daughters  became  heads  of  families. 
The  names  of  the  sons  were  William,  Joseph,  John,  James,  Samuel  and 
Archibald.  Mary,  a  daughter  of  the  second  wife,  became  the  wife  of 
John  Trimble.     (See  "The  Trimbles.") 

Robert  Alexander,  the  founder  of  the  first  classical  school  in  the 
Valley  (see  page  42),  was  a  brother  of  Captain  Archibald  Alexander, 
and  preceded  the  latter  to  America  and  to  the  Valley.  He  married,  in 
Pennsylvania,  Esther  Beard.     His  children  were — 

I.  William,  who  died  in  Rockbridge,  in  1829,  leaving  children  ;  2. 
Robert,  who  lived  in  Campbell  county,  and  was  clerk  of  the  county 


ANNALS    OF   AUGUSTA   COUNTY.  417 

court  for  many  years,  ^eing  succeeded  in  office  by  his  son,  and  he  by 
his  son,  both  called  Jack  Alexander;  3.  Peter,  who,  it  is  believed,  went 
to  the  West;  4.  Hugh,  who  died  unmarried;  5.  James,  who  married 
Peggy  Lyle,  of  Rockbridge,  and  removed  to  Greenbrier;  and  daughters, 
Ann,  Esther,  Ellen  and  Sally.  The  last-named  was  the  second  wife  of 
Colonel  John  Wilson,  of  Bath  county. 

William  Wilson  and  his  wife,  Barbara  McKane,  were  married  in  Dub- 
lin, Ireland.  They  came  to  America  about  1720,  and  settled  at  Forks 
of  Brandy  wine,  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania.  At  that  place,  their  son 
John,  mentioned  above,  was  born,  in  December,  1732  In  the  fall  of 
1747,  this  family  came  to  Augusta,  and  settled  near  New  Providence 
church.  John  went  to  school  to  Robert  Alexander,  and  became  a  skilful 
surveyor.  The  Rev.  William  Wilson,  of  Augusta,  was  a  cousin  of  Wil- 
liam Wilson  and  wrote  his  will. 

In  1762,  William  Wilson  and  his  family  removed  to  Jackson's  river, 
now  Highland  county,  near  Stony  Run  church.  The  next  year  they 
were  assailed  by  a  band  of  Indians,  supposed  to  have  been  a  part  of 
those  who  perpetrated  the  first  Kerr's  Creek  massacre.  [See  "The 
Raid  upon  the  Wilson  Family."] 

After  this  Indian  raid  the  Wilsons  returned  to  the  neighborhood  of 
New  Providence,  and  remained  there  till  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary 
war,  when  they  went  back  to  Jackson's  river.  William  Wilson  died  in 
March,  1795. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  John  Wilson  entered  the  military 
service,  and  he  is  said  to  have  commanded  a  regiment  of  militia  at  the 
siege  of  Yorktown.  Previous  to  the  war  he  married  Isabella  Seawright, 
but  she  died  childless  in  a  short  time.  In  December,  1785,  he  married 
Sally  Alexander,  daughter  of  his  old  teacher.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
justices  of  Bath,  when  that  county  was  established,  in  1791.  His  wife 
died  in  1808,  and  he  on  the  21st  of  January,  1820. 

The  children  of  Colonel  John  Wilson  were  a  son,  William,  born  Jan- 
uary 9,  1787,  at  the  house  of  his  grandfather,  Robert  Alexander;  and 
two  daughters,  Peggy,  who  married  Mr.  Hanna,  of  Greenbrier,  and 
Esther,  who  married  Major  John  Bolar,  of  Bath. 

William  Wilson,  Jr.,  married  Sally  McClung.  His  children  were  John, 
who  died  unmarried,  Susan,  who  married  Washington  Stephenson,  and 
Sarah,  who  married  Adam  Stephenson,  of  Highland  county. 


THE  RAID  UPON  THE  WILSON  FAMILY. 

Mrs.  Margaret  Hanna,  of  Greenbrier  county,  who  died  in  1878,  at  the 
age  of  eighty-seven  years,  left  an  account  of  the  assault  by  Indians 
upon  the  Wilson  family  in  July,  1763,  written  by  her  at  the  dictation  of 
her  father,  Colonel  John  Wilson.     (See  "The  Wilsons.")     This  manu- 


418  SUPPLEMENT   TO   THE 

script  having  come  into  the  hands  of  Dr.  John  ^.  Hale,  was  pubHshed 
by  him  in  The  Kanawha  Gazette,  of  December  27,  1887,  and  we  extract 
from  it  as  follows.  The  scene  of  the  occurrence  was  in  the  present 
county  of  Highland,  near  Stony  Run  church  : 

"Just  at  this  time  the  Wilsons  were  erecting  a  new  and  larger  log- 
house  than  the  original  cabin  that  had  hitherto  served  them. 

"John  had  gone  to  Dickinson's  Fort,  not  far  away,  to  get  some  help 
for  the  house-raising  next  day ;  while  William,  Jr.  (called  Thomas  by 
others),  had  gone  to  a  little  mill,  about  a  mile  distant,  to  get  some  meal 
ground  for  the  house  raising  party. 

"Two  of  the  sisters,  Margaret  and  Elizabeth,  were  out  on  the  river 
bank  washing  flax-tow  ;  Mrs.  Wilson,  who  was  in  feeble  health,  had 
walked  out  to  where  they  were  at  work;  an  Irishman  had  a  loom  in 
the  yard  and  was  weaving;  two  of  the  sisters,  Susan  and  Barbara,  were 
in  the  cabin  ironing  the  family  clothes,  and  the  father,  with  some  other 
men,  were  at  work  on  the  new  house  logs,  when  the  attack  was  made. 

"  In  returning  from  the  Fort,  John  encountered  the  Indians  suddenly, 
in  a  turn  of  the  road.  They  fired  on  him,  and  a  ball  passed  through 
his  clothes  just  under  his  arm,  cutting  the  gusset  of  his  shirt.  He 
wheeled  his  horse  quickly  and  fled  back  to  the  Fort  to  get  immediate 
help,  to  go  to  the  rescue  of  the  family,  and  about  twenty  returned  with 
him. 

"The  Indians  had  passed  on  to  the  cabin.  The  girls  at  the  river, 
washing,  saw  them  coming  and  started  to  run,  and  at  the  same  time 
tried  to  help  their  mother  away,  but  she  told  them  to  go  and  save 
themselves  and  leave  her.  In  passing,  an  Indian  threw  a  tomahawk  at 
the  old  lady,  and  severely  wounded  her  in  the  wrist  as  she  threw  up  her 
hand  to  save  her  face.  The  Indians  did  not  pursue  them,  but  hurried 
on  to  the  cabin.  They  fired  at  the  Irish  weaver,  but  he  escaped  with  a 
flesh  wound  in  his  shoulder. 

"  As  they  entered  the  cabin,  one  of  the  girls,  Barbara,  ran  out  and 
was  knocked  down  and  her  skull  probably  fractured,  but  she  was  not 
scalped.  The  girl  remaining  in  the  cabin,  Susan,  closed  the  door,  and 
when  an  Indian  put  his  hand  in  to  try  to  open  it,  she  mashed  and 
burned  his  fingers  with  a  hot  smoothing  iron. 

"  By  this  time,  the  father  and  his  men  from  the  new  house  founda- 
tion came  up,  and  attacked  the  Indians  with  hand-spikes  and  foot-adze; 
the  latter,  in  ihe  hands  of  Mr.  Wilson,  and  drove  them  off. 

"  When  John  and  his  party  arrived  it  was  dark,  and  they  were  unable 
to  see  what  mischief  had  been  done.  They  ascended  an  elevated  point 
near  by,  to  see  if  they  could  discover  any  fire-light  or  other  evidences 
of  life  about  the  cabin. 

"Seeing  none,  they  concluded  or  feared  that  the  family  had  all  been 
destroyed.  In  nearing  the  cabin  other  dangers  suggested  themselves, 
the  family  had  several  fierce  dogs,  which  had  been  trained  to  great 
watchfulness,  some  were  taught  to  sleep  at  the  back  door  of  the  cabin, 
and  some  at  the  front,  so  as  to  give  warning  of  approaches  from  either 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  419 

direction;  it  also  occurred  to  them  that  if  any  of  the  family  survived, 
they  would  have  sentries  stationed  out  to  watch  for  a  possible  return  of 
the  Indians  during  the  night,  and  that  these  sentries  might  fire  on  them. 
In  the  uncertainties,  John  Wilson  himself  took  the  lead,  cautiously 
approached  the  cabin,  and  succeeded  in  reaching  it  without  accident  or 
alarm. 

"Upon  entering  the  cabin  he  was  rejoiced  to  find  his  father  and  sister 
Susan  present  and  unharmed,  but  was  at  the  same  time  pained  to  find 
his  sister  Barbara  badly  wounded,  and  his  mother,  two  sisters,  his 
brother  William  and  the  Irish  weaver  all  missing,  and  their  fates 
unknown. 

"  At  early  dawn  next  morning,  John  and  his  party  started  out  to  search 
for  the  missing  ones.  He  tracked  his  mother  by  her  blood  about  a  mile 
up  the  river,  to  where  she  had  alternately  walked  and  crawled,  proba- 
bly not  knowing  whither  she  went.  When  found  she  was  entirely  out 
of  her  mind  and  did  not  recognize  her  son  and  friends,  supposing  them 
to  be  Indians  still  pursuing  her;  she  rallied  however,  and  lived  for 
many  years  afterward. 

"William,  Jr.,  though  he  usually  wore  moccasins,  had  on  the  day 
before  put  on  a  pair  of  shoes.  Going  toward  the  mill  the  searchers 
found  by  his  shoe-tracks  where  he  had  attempted  to  run  when  the 
Indians  discovered  him — where  he  had  slipped  and  fallen  and  been 
captured  by  them — where,  further  along,  they  had  tied  him  to  a  tree, 
and  afterwards  loosened  him  again,  and  taken  him  off  with  them.  His 
father  always  thought  that  if  he  had  had  on  moccasins  instead  of  shoes 
he  would  have  escaped  and  avoided  capture.  His  pursuers  were  con- 
fident that  he  had  made  his  shoe-track  '  sign  '  as  conspicuous  as  possi- 
ble, so  as  to  enable  them  to  follow  the  trail,  but  they  never  overtook 
him,  and  he  was  carried  off  to  the  Indian  towns  beyond  the  Ohio. 

"  A  returned  prisoner  reported  to  the  family,  some  time  after,  that 
she  had  seen  him  at  the  Chilicothe  towns,  but  was  not  allowed  to  talk 
with  him.  She  said  he  had  been  adopted  by  a  widow  who  had  lost  a 
son,  and  was  kindly  treated.  He  never  got  home,  but  died  in  cap- 
tivity." 

Another  account,  by  John  W.  Stephenson,  Esq.,  of  Bath,  a  descendant 
of  Colonel  John  Wilson,  is  as  follows : 

"John  Wilson,  on  the  day  of  the  raid,  was  returning  from  Staunton, 
where  he  had  been  to  get  nails  to  be  used  in  putting  up  the  new  house, 
and  had  purchased  a  new  hat.  When  the  Indians  shot  at  him  his  hat 
fell  off,  and  he  stopped  his  horse  and  picked  it  up.  The  Indians  were 
so  close  he  could  hear  their  peculiar  grunt  of  satisfaction,  thinking  they 
had  killed  him.  He  went  to  a  stockade  fort,  near  where  Williamsville 
now  is,  and  got  the  men  to  return  with  him  that  night.  One  of  the  men 
was  David  Gwin,then  about  eighteen  years  of  age.  He  was  afterwards 
a  captain  in  the  Revolution,  one  of  the  largest  land  owners  of  Bath 
county,  and  grandfather  of  the  Rev.  Daniel  W.  Gwin,  D.  D.,  of  Ken- 
tucky, a  distinguished  Baptist  minister." 


420  SUPPLEMENT    TO   THE 

Mr.  Stephenson  states  that  the  son  of  William  Wilson,  who  was  car- 
ried off  by  the  Indians,  was  named  Thomas. 


THE  ROBERTSONS. 


James  Robertson  and  his  son,  also  named  James,  came  to  America 
from  Coleraine,  North  Ireland,  in  1737,  and  settled  in  Augusta  county. 
James  the  younger  died  in  1754,  and  his  will  is  recorded  in  Will  Book 
No.  2,  page  72.  It  is  dated  September  11,  1751,  and  was  proved  in  court 
November  20,  1754.  The  testator  left  his  real  estate  to  his  sons  George 
and  Alexander.  His  personal  estate  footed  up  ;^63,  3s.,  about  |2io. 
The  real  estate  consisted  of  274  acres,  conveyed  by  John  Lewis  to  James 
Robertson,  February  18,  1743,  lying  on  Lewis's  creek,  "in  the  Manor  of 
Beverley, "  adjoining  the  lands  of  the  Rev.  John  Craig  and  others,  being 
a  part  of  2,071  acres  conveyed  to  Colonel  Lewis  by  William  Beverley 
by  deed  dated  February  22,  1738.  It  lay  between  Staunton  and  Mr. 
Craig's  residence,  which  was  about  five  miles  from  town. 

Of  George  Robertson,  the  older  son  of  James,  we  have  little  infor- 
mation; Alexander  Robertson,  the  second  son,  was  born  November  22, 
1748,  about  a  mile  from  Staunton,  it  is  said,  but  the  distance  was  probably 
three  or  four  miles.  He  married  Margaret  Robinson,  August  18,  1773, 
in  Bedford  county.  She  was  born  April  13,  1755,  on  the  Roanoke  river, 
then  in  Augusta,  now  in  Montgomery  county,  and  is  described  as  a 
woman  of  extraordinary  intellect  and  exemplary  Christian  character. 
She  died  at  the  residence  of  her  son-in-law,  ex-Governor  Robert  P. 
Letcher,  in  Frankfort,  Kentucky,  June  13,  1846,  in  her  92d  year. 

In  August,  1777,  George  Robertson  resided  in  Botetourt,  and  Alexan- 
der in  Montgomery.  On  the  loth  of  that  month,  George  and  his  wife, 
Jane,  conveyed  their  one-half  of  the  Augusta  farm  to  Alexander,  in 
consideration  of  ^100;  and  on  the  12th,  Alexander  and  wife  conveyed 
the  whole  tract  to  Joseph  Bell. 

In  1779,  Alexander  Robertson  removed  with  his  family  to  Kentucky, 
and  settled  in  Mercer  county,  where  he  built  "  the  first  fine  house  in 
Kentucky."  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  man  of  strong  mind,  sterling 
moral  qualities,  and  very  popular.  He  was  a  member  of  the  State  Con- 
vention of  1788,  at  Richmond  (Kentucky  being  then  a  part  of  Virginia), 
and  a  member  from  Kentucky  of  the  Virginia  Legislature  the  ensuing 
winter.     He  died  in  1802. 

George  Robertson,  son  of  Alexander,  was  born  in  Mercer  county, 
November  18,  1790.  He  was  educated  at  various  Kentucky  schools, 
and  finally  studied  law.  When  just  nineteen  years  of  age,  he  married 
Eleanor  Bainbridge,  who  was  under  sixteen,  and  set  up  house-keeping 
in  a  "  buckeye  house  "  of  two  rooms.    Four  persons  began  married  life  in 


ANNALS   OF   AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  421 

this  house  and  while  occupying  it  were  successively  elected  to  Congress 
—John  Boyle,  Samuel  McKee,  George  Robertson  and  Robert  P.  Letcher. 
Robertson  resigned  in  his  third  term,  i82i-'23.  He  was  Chief  Justice 
of  Kentucky  from  December  24,  1829,  till  April  7,1843;  and  again  a 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  from  1864  to  1871,  when  he  resigned. 
His  standing  is  indicated  by  the  offices  tendered  to  him.  In  1824,  he 
was  offered,  but  declined,  the  mission  to  Columbia,  South  America, 
and  in  1828,  the  mission  to  Peru.  He  four  times  declined  seats  in  the 
Federal  Cabinet,  and  twice  a  seat  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States.  Robertson  county,  Kentucky,  was  called  for  him. 
(Collins's  History  of  Kentucky,  volume  2,  page  687.)  He  died.  May  16, 
1874- . 

Major  John  Hays  (see  pages  143  and  215)  lived  on  a  farm  under 
the  Jump  mountain,  Rockbridge.  His  sons  were — i.  Michael  Hays,  of 
Ohio,  who  was  an  officer  in  the  United  States  Army  in  1S12;  2.  Andrew 
Hays,  a  distinguished  lawyer  of  Nashville,  Tennessee;  3.  John  Brown 
Hays,  of  Columbia,  Tennessee,  whose  wife  was  a  sister  of  President 
Polk;  and,  4.  James  Campbell  Hays,  of  Tennessee  and  Texas,  who 
was  the  father  of  Jack  Hays,  the  Texan  Ranger. 


TREATIES  WITH   INDIANS. 


On  the  2d  of  July,  1744,  a  treaty  was  concluded  at  Lancaster,  Penn- 
sylvania, between  Thomas  Lee,  member  of  the  Council  of  State  and 
one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Colony  of  Virginia,  and 
William  Beverley,  Colonel  and  County  Lieutenant  of  the  county  of 
Orange  and  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  Commissioners  ap- 
pointed by  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  and  twenty-five  chiefs  of  the  Six 
United  Nations  of  Indians.  In  consideration  of  four  hundred  pounds, 
current  money  of  Pennsylvania,  paid  partly  in  goods  and  partly  in  gold 
money,  the  Indians  renounced  their  right  and  claim  to  all  the  lands  in 
the  Colony  of  Virginia,  and  acknowledged  the  title  thereto  of  the  King 
of  Great  Britain.  This  is  known  as  the  Treaty  of  Lancaster,  and  the 
instrument  was  witnessed  by  James  Patton,  Robert  Brooke,  Jr.,  James 
Madison  and  others.  The  deed  was  proved  in  the  General  Court  and 
ordered  to  be  recorded,  October  25,  1744. 

Some  dissatisfaction  having  arisen  among  the  Indians  in  regard  to 
the  Treaty  of  Lancaster,  a  conference  was  held  at  Logstown,  on  the 
Ohio,  in  1752,  between  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  and  Joshua  Fry,  Luns- 
ford  Lomax  and  James  Patton.  Commissioners  of  Virginia  ;  and  another 
deed  was  executed  by  six  chiefs,  consenting  to  the  deed  of  July  2,  1744, 
and  promising  to  assist  and  protect  British  subjects  settled  "  on  the 
southern  or  eastern  part  of  the  river  called  Alleghany."    This  deed  was 


422  SUPPLEMENT   TO   THE 

dated  June  13,  1752,  and  was  witnessed  by  George  Croghan,  Thomas 
McKee,  William  Preston  and  others. 

Logstown  was  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Ohio,  eighteen  miles  below 
Pittsburg.  It  was  an  important  Indian  town,  and  consisted  of  sixty  or 
seventy  cabins  inhabited  by  a  number  of  confederated  tribes,  including 
Shawnees.     (See  page  48.) 

At  Fort  Pitt,  on  July  10,  1775,  the  chiefs  and  sachems  of  the  Six 
Nations,  in  consideration  of  twelve  thousand  Spanish  dollars,  "or  the 
value  thereof  in  merchandise,"  and  also  "the  great  justice  and  integ- 
rity "  of  George  Croghan  to  the  Indians,  conveyed  a  tract  of  land  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Ohio  River,  beginning  opposite  the  mouth  of 
French  creek,  or  Beef  river,  etc.,  etc.,  containing  by  estimation  six 
millions  (6,000,000)  of  acres.  The  deed  was  signed  by  six  chiefs,  one 
making  the  mark  of  "  the  hill,"  another  of  "  the  mountain,"  etc. ;  and 
was  witnessed  by  John  Campbell,  Thomas  Hosier  and  George  Rootes. 

On  the  30th  of  July,  1777,  George  Croghan  "of  Fort  Pitt,  in  the  State 
of  Virginia,"  by  deed  to  Dr.  Thomas  Walker  and  others,  in  consider- 
ation of  five  thousand  Spanish  dollars,  conveyed  "one  clear  eight  and 
fortieth  part"  (125,000  acres)  of  the  tract  granted  by  the  Indians  to 
Croghan.  Among  the  witnesses  to  this  deed  were  George  Rootes  and 
Strother  Jones. 

George  Rootes  is  said  to  have  lived  in  Augusta,  near  the  Stone  church, 
but  we  have  found  no  trace  of  him  in  our  county  archives.  From  the 
catalogue  of  William  &  Mary  College,  we  learn  that,  in  1771,  Philip 
Rootes,  son  of  Philip  Rootes  of  Augusta,  was  a  student  at  that  institu- 
tion;  and  in  1779,  Thomas  Rootes,  of  Augusta,  was  a  student  there. 
Strother  Jones  was  the  son  of  Gabriel  Jones  of  Augusta. 

The  deeds  herein  referred  to  are  printed  in  full  in  the  book  called 
the  "  Page  Family  in  Virginia." 


THE  McKEES. 


Ten  or  eleven  brothers  named  McKee  came  from  Ireland  to  America 
in  1738,  and  settled  near  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania.  Three  of  these — 
Robert,  William  and  John— came  to  Augusta  county,  but  at  what  date  is 
uncertain.  Their  descendants  state  that  it  was  about  1760,  but  the  records 
of  the  county  show  that  John  McKee  purchased  a  tract  of  land  in  the 
forks  of  James  river,  on  August  16,  1752. 

I.  Robert  McKee  died  June  11,  1774,  aged  eighty-two  years,  and  his 
wife,  Agnes,  January  29,  1780,  aged  eighty-four.  They  had  two  sons, 
William  and  John. 

I.  William  McKee,  son  of  Robert  and  Agnes,  was  born  in  1732,  and, 
probably  while  living  in  Pennsylvania,  was,  with  his  father,  at  Braddock's 
defeat.  He  married  his  first  cousm,  Miriam,  daughter  of  John  McKee, 
Sr.     His  residence  was  a  few  miles  west  of  Lexington,  and  the  farm  is 


ANNALS   OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  423 

now  (1888)  owned  by  descendants  of  the  Rev  Dr.  Baxter.  It  is  said 
that  he  was  at  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant,  and  if  so,  probably  belonged 
to  Colonel  Fleming's  Botetourt  regiment.  He  represented  Rockbridge 
repeatedly  in  the  Legislature,  and  in  1788  was  the  colleague  of  General 
Andrew  Moore  in  the  State  Convention  which  ratified  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution. He  was  also  one  of  the  first  trustees  of  Liberty  Hall  Acad- 
emy. In  1796  he  removed  to  Kentucky,  and  died  there  in  1816.  He 
was  known  in  Virginia  as  Colonel  McKee. 

Samuel  McKee,  the  fifth  son  of  Colonel  William  McKee,  was  born  in 
1774.  He  was  a  member  of  Congress  from  Kentucky  from  1809  to  1817^ 
a  State  judge,  and  also  Judge  of  the  United  States  district  court.  His 
sons  were  Colonel  William  R.  McKee.  who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of 
Buena  Vista  in  February,  1847  ;  Judge  George  R.  McKee,  and  Dr.  Alex- 
ander R.  McKee.  Lieutenant  Hugh  W.  McKee,  of  the  United  States 
Navy,  a  son  of  Colonel  William  R.,  was  killed  May  11,  1871,  in  a  fight 
between  the  men  of  several  war  steamers  and  the  Coreans,  of  South- 
eastern Asia. 

James  McKee,  the  thirteenth  son  of  Colonel  William  McKee,  was  the 
father  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  L.  McKee,  Vice-President  of  Centre  College, 
Kentucky. 

2.  John  McKee,  the  other  son  of  Robert  and  Agnes,  married  Esther 
Houston,  aunt  of  General  Sam  Houston.  A  son  of  his,  also  named 
John,  was  a  member  of  Congress  from  Tennessee,  and  one  of  the  first 
United  States  Senators  from  Alabama. 

II.  William  McKee,  the  pioneer,  died  in  Virginia.  His  family  moved 
to  Kentucky  about  i788-'9o,  and  most  of  his  descendants  live  in  that 
State. 

III.  John  McKee,  the  youngest  of  the  three  brothers  who  came  to  the 
Valley,  lived  on  Kerr's  creek,  now  Rockbridge.  His  wife  was  Jane 
Logan,  and  was  killed  by  Indians,  as  related  on  page  115.  He  married 
a  second  time,  as  appears  from  a  deed  executed  March  14,  1774,  by 
"John  McKee  and  Rosanna,  his  wife,  of  Kerr's  creek,  Augusta  county," 
conveying  two  hundred  and  eighty-one  acres  of  land,  part  in  Augusta 
and  part  in  Botetourt,  Rockbridge  not  having  been  formed  at  that 
time.  He  died  March  2,  1792,  aged  eighty-four.  Several  of  his  eight 
children  went  to  Kentucky,  others  remaining  in  Virginia.  His  de. 
scendants  are  numerous. 


THE  CRAWFORDS. 


Alexander  and  Patrick  Crawford,  brothers,  were  among  the  earliest 
settlers  in  Augusta  county.  They  are  presumed  to  have  been  natives 
of  the  north  of  Ireland,  like  most  of  their  cotemporaries  in  the  county, 
but  nothing  can  be  learned  about  their  early  history.  The  descendants 
of  both  say  there  was  a  third  brother  who  also  came  to  the  Valley,  but 


424  SUPPLEMENT   TO   THE 

whose  name  they  do  not  know.  It  may  be  that  this  third  brother  was 
the  grand-father  of  WilUam  H.  Crawford,  of  Georgia,  whose  father,  Joel 
Crawford,  removed  from  Nelson  county,  Virginia,  to  South  Carolina,  in 
1779. 

Alexander  Craivford,  the  eider  of  the  two,  married  Mary  McPheeters, 
but  whether  in  Ireland  or  America  is  not  known.  He  acquired  an  ex- 
tensive tract  of  land  in  Augusta,  covering  a  part  of  the  Little  North 
mountain,  and  extending  far  out  into  the  plain.  It  embraced  sixteen 
hundred  and  forty  acres.  His  dwelHng  stood  on  a  knoll,  at  the  eastern 
base  of  the  mountain,  and  looked  out  towards  the  rising  sun  on  a  wide 
tract  of  level  land.  It  was  "  beautiful  for  situation."  The  spot  is  about 
two  miles  northeast  of  Buffalo  Gap,  and  a  hundred  yards  south  of  the 
present  residence  of  Baxter  Crawford,  a  great-grand-son  of  Alexander 
and  Mary.  The  site  of  the  house  is  now  marked  by  a  thicket,  sur- 
rounding a  pile  of  unhewn  stones  which  composed  the  chimney. 

Here  Alexander  and  Mary  Crawford  had  eleven  children,  seven  sons 
and  four  daughters.  They  had  an  abundance  of  all  the  good  things  the 
times  and  country  afforded ,  and  until  the  Indian  wars  arose,  lived  in 
peace  and  plenty.  They  belonged  to  a  God-fearing  race,  and  doubt- 
less walked  in  the  old  ways  of  their  pious  ancestors.  The  father  and 
mother,  were,  however,  both  slaughtered  by  savages,  on  their  premises, 
with  no  human  eye  near  enough  to  witness  the  tragedy. 

Much  uncertainty  has  existed  as  to  the  date  of  the  occurrence.  But 
at  November  County  Court,  1764,  William  McPheeters  qualified  as  ad- 
ministrator of  Alexander  Crawford,  and,  although  some  of  the  latter's 
descendants  insist  upon  an  earlier  date,  it  seems  highly  probable,  if  not 
absolutely  certain,  that  the  slaughter  was  perpetrated  by  some  of  the 
Indians  who  made  the  second  raid  upon  Kerr's  Creek,  in  October  of 
the  year  mentioned. 

The  rumor  had  gone  abroad  that  an  invasion  by  Indians  was  threat- 
ened, and  all  the  Crawford  family  had  taken  refuge  in  a  house  at  the 
Big  Spring.  This  house  was  called  a  fort,  being  better  able  to  resist 
an  attack  than  most  dwellings  of  the  period,  and  was  often  resorted  to 
by  the  people  around  in  times  of  danger.  It  is  probably  the  ancient 
stone  house,  still  standing  and  used  as  a  dwelling,  on  the  south  side  of 
Middle  river,  two  miles  south  of  the  present  village  of  Churchville, 
and  about  three  miles  from  Alexander  Crawford's.  It  has  long  been 
known  as  the  "old  Keller  house."  The  windows  are  few  in  number 
and  very  narrow,  hardly  more  than  a  foot  wide. 

On  the  day  of  the  slaughter,  early  in  the  morning,  it  is  said,  Alex- 
ander Crawford  and  his  wife  returned  home  to  procure  a  supply  of 
vegetables,  while  two  of  their  sons,  William  and  John,  went  upon  the 
mountain  to  salt  the  horses  which  had  been  turned  out  to  graze.  From 
their  elevation  on  the  side  of  the  mountain,  the  two  youths  saw  the 
smoke  and  flames  of  the  burning  homestead.  On  the  same  day,  pro- 
bably, the  home  of  John  Trimble,  some  three  miles  off,  on  Middle 
River,  was  assailed,  as  is  related  elsewhere. 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA   COUNTY.  425 

We  may  imagine  that  the  men  of  the  neighborhood  were  somewhat 
slow  to  assemble.  No  one  knew  but  his  house  would  be  attacked  next, 
and  every  man  felt  it  necessary  to  protect  his  own  family  if  possible. 
When  the  people  rallied  and  repaired  to  the  Crawford  place,  the  dwell-, 
ing  had  been  consumed  by  fire.  The  charred  remains  of  Ale.xander 
Crawford  were  found  in  the  ashes,  showing  that  he  had  been  killed  in 
the  house.  His  wife's  body  was  found  outside,  and  it  was  inferred  that 
she  had  attempted  to  escape,  but  was  overtaken  and  tomahawked. 
The  remains  of  both  were  gathered  up  and  buried  in  the  Glebe  grave- 
yard. 

The  sale-bill  of  Alexander  Crawford's  personal  estate  amounted  to 
;^334.  17s,  9d,  about  |i,ii4,  a  larger  sum  than  was  common  at  that  day. 
We  mention  as  sorhe  indication  of  the  state  of  the  times,  that  among 
the  articles  sold  by  the  administrator  were  a  still  and  a  wolf-trap.  All 
the  family  records  and  other  household  effects  perished  with  the 
dwelling. 

It  is  related  that  Alexander  Crawford  was  ambitious  to  be  the  founder 
of  "a  clan,"  such  as  we  read  of  in  Scottish  history,  and  impressed  it 
upon  his  children  that  they  must  respect  the  right  of  primogeniture 
then  existing  by  law.  His  oldest  son,  William,  did  not  approve  of  the 
scheme,  and  thus  his  father's  wishes  were  defeated.  The  latter  was  a 
skilled  worker  in  iron. 

The  children  of  Alexander  and  Mary  Crawford  were — 

I.  William  Crawford,  who  is  named  first  in  every  list.  In  an  old 
grave-yard,  on  a  high  hill  overlooking  Middle  river,  on  the  farm  of  the 
late  Ephraim  Geeding,  is  an  ancient  sand-stone,  flat  on  the  ground  and 
broken  in  two.  The  inscription  upon  it,  which  is  nearly  illegible,  is  as 
follows : 

"Wm.  Crawford,  departed  this  life  October  15,  1792,  aged  48  years." 

He  was  therefore  twenty  years  old  when  his  parents  were  massa- 
cred. His  will  was  proved  in  court  at  December  term,  179.2.  In  it  he 
mentions  his  wife,  Rachel,  and  his  children,  Alexander,  James,  John, 
William,  George,  Polly,  Nancy,  Jenny  and  Rachel.  He  also  alludes  to 
James  Elliott  as  a  neighboring  land-owner,  and  from  this  person,  prob- 
ably, the  highest  point  of  the  Great  North  Mountain  was  named.  Of 
the  children  of  William  Crawford — 

I.  Alexander  married  Rachel  Lessley,  and  his  children  were,  (i.) 
William,  whose  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Colonel  Andrew  Anderson,  and 
whose  children  are  Andrew  A.  Crawford,  Mrs.  Baxter  Crawford,  Mrs. 
Joseph  B.  Trimble  and  others.  His  youngest  son,  James  Robert,  gradu- 
ated at  the  Virginia  Military  Institute,  served  on  the  staff  of  Colonel 
William  L.  Jackson  during  the  late  war,  was  wounded  at  Droop  Moun- 
tain, and  died  April  26,  1864.  (2 )  Polly  married  James  Lessley,  her 
second  cousin,  and  is  still  living  (18S8)  on  a  part  of  the  domain 
acquired  by  her  great-grandfather,  Alexander.  (3.)  Rebecca,  wife  of 
Captain  James  Bell,  whom  she  long  survived.  (4.)  James,  who  married 
his  full  cousin,  Rachel,  daughter  of  John  Crawford,  and  died  in  Texas. 


426  SUPPLEMENT    TO   THE 

(5.)  Rachel,  wife  of  Henry  Bear,  whose  son.  Christian  A.  Bear,  now 
lives  on  a  part  of  the  1,640  acre  tract.  (6.)  Alexander,  whose  wife  was 
Mary  Hottle.  and  whose  children  are  William  T  Crawford  and  others. 
He  was  the  founder  of  '  Crawford's  Springs,"  now  called  Augusta 
White  Sulphur. 

2.  James  Crawford,  son  of  William,  married  Nancy  Sawyers  and  went 
to  Tennessee. 

John,  William  and  George,  the  third,  fourth  and  fifth  children  of  Wil- 
liam, also  went  to  Tennessee. 

6.  Polly,  wife  of  John  Armstrong,  had  two  sons :  William,  who  went 
to  Texas,  and  John,  who  went  to  Missouri 

7.  Nancy,  wife  of  James  Tolman  of  Pocahontas  county. 

8.  Jenny,  wife  of  John  Gillespie  of  Tennessee. 

9.  Rachael  died  young  and  unmarried. 

II.  Edward  Crawford,  son  of  Alexanderand  Mary,  graduated  at  Prince- 
ton College  in  1775,  and  was  licensed  as  a  preacher  in  1777.  He  was  a 
member  of  Lexington  Presbytery  at  its  organization,  September  26, 
1786,  and  was  appointed  to  preach  for  a  month  in  Tygart's  Valley  and 
Harrison  county.  At  the  meetings  of  Presbytery,  in  April  and  Septem- 
ber, 1792,  at  Lexington  and  Harrisonburg,  respectively,  he  was  the 
Moderator.  Subsequently,  he  became  a  member  of  Abingdon  Presby- 
tery, living  in  Southwest  Virginia  or  East  Tennessee. 

III.  John  Crawford,  third  son  of  Alexander  and  Mary,  was  married 
three  times  successively.  His  first  wife  was  Peggy,  eldest  daughter  of 
his  uncle,  Patrick  Crawford,  by  whom  he  had  one  daughter,  who  mar- 
ried Daniel  Falls  and  went  to  Ohio.  His  second  wife  was  Mary  Craig, 
by  whom  he  had  a  son,  Samuel,  and  five  daughters.  Samuel  went  to 
Illinois,  and  is  said  to  have  had  sixteen  children.  Nothing  is  known  of 
the  five  daughters,  except  that  one  of  them,  Polly,  was  the  wife  of  the 
Rev.  Samuel  Gillespie  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

The  third  wife  of  John  Crawford  was  Sally  Newman  of  Fredericks- 
burg, and  she  had  five  children  who  lived  to  maturity :  James,  William 
and  John,  all  of  whom  emigrated  to  Missouri,  about  1838 ;  a  daughter, 
Nancy,  wife  of  LeRoy  Newman,  her  first  cousin ;  and  another,  Fanny, 
wife  of  Henry  Rippetoe,  who  still  survives. 

John  Crawford  was  a  man  of  great  energy  and  activity.  It  is  said 
that  he  was  engaged  in  all  the  expeditions  of  his  day  against  the  Indians, 
including  Point  Pleasant.  He  was  a  soldier  during  the  whole  Revolu- 
tionary war,  and  when  not  in  the  field  was  employed  in  making  guns 
and  other  weapons,  having  acquired  his  father's  skill  as  an  iron-worker. 
The  day  after  the  battle  of  the  Cowpens,  in  which  he  participated,  he 
was  promoted  from  the  ranks  to  a  first  lieutenancy  on  account  of  his 
gallantry  in  that  celebrated  battle.  He  was  also  at  Guilford,  and  with 
General  Greene  in  all  his  southern  campaign.  Yet  he  never  would  ac- 
cept pension  or  bounty  lands. 

Like  his  father,  however,  John  Crawford  was  desirous  of  acquiring  a 
large  landed  estate,  and  there  was  a  brisk  competition  between  him  and 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  427 

his  neighbor,  Francis  Gardiner  (pronounced  by  the  old  people  "  Francie 
Garner")  as  to  the  ownership  of  the  Little  North  Mountain  range.  As 
related,  each  discovered  about  the  same  time  that  a  certain  tract  of  a 
hundred  acres  had  not  been  patented,  and  both  sought  to  acquire  it. 
Gardiner  got  ahead  of  Crawford  by  starting  to  Richmond  first,  but  the 
latter  mounted  a  blooded  mare  and  never  rested  till  he  reached  the 
capital,  passing  his  rival  on  the  way.  Crawford  emerged  from  the  land 
office  with  his  title  complete,  and  met  Gardiner  at  the  door  going  in. 
The  mare,  which  was  no  doubt  worth  much  more  than  the  land,  died 
from  the  effects  of  the  trip. 

It  is  a  pity  to  spoil  a  grand  story  by  suggesting  a  doubt  in  reference 
to  it,  but  it  must  be  mentioned  that  such  a  trip  to  Richmond  could 
hardly  have  been  necessary  in  order  to  obtain  title  to  vacant  land,  as 
the  county  surveyor  was  authorized  to  make  the  entry.  Nevertheless, 
the  main  portions  of  the  story  are  well  authenticated. 

The  rivalry  between  the  two  neighbors  waxed  hot,  and  meeting  one 
day  while  prospecting  on  the  mountain,  they  became  engaged  in  a  fight, 
of  which  one  or  both,  no  doubt,  duly  repented. 

John  Crawford  died  at  his  home  on  Buffalo  branch,  in  January,  1832, 
and  was  buried  in  Hebron  church-yard.  His  tombstone  gives  his  age 
as  ninety-one  years,  and,  if  correctly,  he  was  the  oldest  son  of  Alex- 
ander and  Mary,  instead  of  the  third. 

IV.  James  Crawford,  fourth  son  of  Alexander  and  Mary,  became  a 
Presbyterian  minister,  and  was  licensed  to  preach  in  1779,  He  removed 
to  Kentucky,  and  was  for  many  years  pastor  of  Walnut  Hill  church, 
near  Lexington. 

V.  Alexander  Crawford,  fifth  child  of  Alexander  and  Mary,  was  at 
the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant.  His  first  wife  was  a  Miss  Hopkins,  and 
his  second  a  Mrs.  McClure.  The  children  of  the  first  wife  were  Polly, 
Betsy,  Kitty  and  Sally;  and  of  the  second,  James  E.,  William,  George, 
Samuel  and  Robert.  He  lived  on  Walker's  creek,  Rockbridge,  and  was 
for  many  years  an  elder  in  New  Providence  church.  His  death  oc- 
curred June  19,  1830.  Three  of  his  sons — William,  George  and  Samuel 
— died  young.  Robert  lived  and  died  on  his  father's  homestead  in 
Rockbridge.  A  grandson  of  his.  Rev.  Alexander  Crawford,  is  now 
(1888)  pastor  of  a  church  at  Campbellsville,  Kentucky.  James  E.  Craw- 
ford spent  the  latter  years  of  his  life  in  the  Great  Calf  Pasture,  Augusta. 
His  children  are  Baxter  Crawford  and  others. 

[Another  Alexander  Crawford  died  the  latter  part  of  1764,  or  early  in 
1765.  The  inventory  of  his  estate  was  filed  March  19,  1765.  He  had  at 
least  two  children,  Mary  and  Rebecca,  for  whom  a  William  Crawford 
qualified  as  guardian  in  1768.  What  family  he  belonged  to,  we  cannot 
ascertain.] 

VI.  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Alexander  and  Mary  Crawford,  married 
John  Sawyers,  and  went  to  Tennessee  or  Kentucky. 

VII.  Bettie  Crawford  is  said  to  have  died  in  Kentucky. 

VIII.  Samuel  Crawford,  the  eighth  child.     Nothing  is  known  of  him, 


428  SUPPLEMENT    TO   THE 

except  what  we  find  in  his  will,  if,  indeed,  he  was  the  Samuel  Crawford 
whose  will  was  admitted  to  record  at  July  court,  1795.  It  speaks  of 
testator's  wife  Elizabeth  and  son  William  ;  authorizes  his  brother  James 
to  sell  land  "  in  Cumberland  "  ;  directs  his  txecutors  to  sell  a  lot  in 
"Nashville,  in  Cumberland";  and  appoints  William  McPheeters, John 
Crawford  and  testator's  widow,  executors.  The  son  William  is  said  to 
have  gone  to  Tennessee. 

IX.  Robert  Crawford  is  said  to  have  married  a  daughter  of  his  uncle 
Patrick.  .The  will  of  a  person  of  this  name  was  proved  and  admitted 
to  record,  October  29,  1810.  The  testator  mentions  his  wife,  Sarah,  and 
his  children,  George,  Elizabeth,  Hugh,  James,  Jane,  Robert,  William 
and  John.  John  and  William  Poage  were  appointed  executors.  Noth- 
ing more  can  be  ascertained  in  reference  to  this  family.  It  is  strange 
that  they  should  have  disappeared  from  the  county,  "  leaving  no  rack  " 
behind. 

X.  Martha  Crawford  married  Alexander  Craig  of  the  Little  Calf  Pas- 
ture, Augusta  county.  All  her  children  went  West,  except  the  late 
"Robert  Craig,  who  died  at  his  home  near  Craigsville,  in  1872. 

XI.  Mary  Crawford  died  unmarried  at  the  home  of  her  sister,  Mrs. 
Craig. 

Patrick  Crawford  lived  on  the  farm  lying  on  Middle  river,  east  of 
the  macadamized  turnpike,  now  owned  by  his  descendant,  John  H. 
Crawford.  His  wife  was  Sally  Wilson.  They  had  nine  children — four 
sons  and  five  daughters.  In  1756,  Patrick  Crawford  was  a  member  of 
Captain  James  Allen's  company  of  militia,  and  at  a  court-martial  held 
September  2,  1757,  he  was  fined  for  not  appearing  at  a  general  muster. 
His  will  was  proved  in  the  county  court,  December  18,  1787,  and  his 
personal  estate,  including  slaves,  amounted  to  ^^2,462,  3s,  7d,  about 
$8,216. 

In  regard  to  several  of  his  daughters,  much  confusion  and  uncertainty 
exists.  Elizabeth,  the  oldest  child,  and  wife  of  Alexander  Robertson, 
is  said  to  have  been  born  October  18,  1751,  although  the  Rev.  John 
Craig  baptized  Martha,  daughter  of  Patrick  Crawford,  in  November, 
1748.  The  probability  is  that  this  child,  Martha,  died  in  infancy,  and 
that  another  born  later  was  called  by  the  same  name.  The  next  daugh- 
ter, Margaret,  or  Peggy,  was  the  first  wife  of  her  cousin,  John  Crawford, 
of  North  Mountain.  One  daughter  is  said  to  have  married  a  McChes- 
ney — her  father  refers  in  his  will  to  his  grandson,  George  McChesney. 
Another  daughter,  Sarah,  married  Robert  Crawford.  Martha,  born 
May  10,  1761,  was  the  second  wife  of  Colonel  Andrew  Anderson,  Mary, 
or  Polly,  the  youngest  daughter,  was  the  wife  of  James  Crawford,  who 
will  be  mentioned  hereafter. 

The  sons  of  Patrick  and  Sally  Crawford  were : 

I.  George  Crawford,  to  whom  hts  father  left  the  plantation  on  which 
he  resided.  He  was  born  October  i,  1754,  and  married  Nancy  Winter. 
Mrs.  Crawford's  parents  were  William  and  Ann  Boone  Winter,  the  latter 
an  aunt  of  Daniel  Boone.     Elizabeth  Winter,  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Crawford, 


ANNALS    OF   AUGUSTA   COUNTY.  429 

married  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  grandfather  of  President  Lincoln;  and 
Hannah  Winter,  another  sister,  married  Henry  Miller,  the  founder  of 
Miller's  Iron  Works,  on  Mossy  creek.  Augusta  county.  (See  page  40). 
It  may  be  mentioned  that  the  grandfather  of  President  Lincoln,  then 
living  in  the  part  of  Augusta  county  which  is  now  Rockingham,  at- 
tended a  court-martial  at  Staunton,  March  13,  1776,  as  captain  of  a 
militia  company.     His  name  was  written  "Abraham  Linkhorn." 

Ail  the  children  of  George  and  Nancy  Crawford  were  daughters,  viz: 
I.  Nancy,  wife  of  John  Miller ;  2.  Hannah,  wifeof  Harry  Miller;  3.  Sally, 
second  wife  of  James  Bell,  died  childless  ;  4.  Jane,  first  wife  of  Franklin 
McCue  ;  5.  Martha,  wife  of  Peter  Hanger ;  6.  Polly,  wife  of  James  Bour- 
land  ;  7.  Rebecca,  died  unmarried  ;  and  8.  Margaret,  wife  of  James 
Walker,  died  childless. 

II.  John  Crawford,  second  son  of  Patrick  and  Sally,  and  known  as 
Major  John  Crawford,  was  born  March  29,  1764.  His  wife  was  Rebecca 
Allen,  daughter  of  Captain  James  Allen  (see  "  The  Aliens,")  and  his  chil- 
dren were:  i.  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Captain  William  Ingles;  2.  Sally,  wife 
of  John  Hyde;  3.  Margaret,  first  wife  of  Cyrus  Hyde;  4.  James,  known 
as  Major  James  Crawford,  married  Cynthia  McClung,  of  Greenbrier, 
whose  son,  John  H.,  owns  the  Patrick  Crawford  farm  ;  5.  John,  married 
Harriet  McClung,  of  Greenbrier;  6.  George  W.,  died  unmarried;  7. 
Ann,  or  Nancy,  second  wife  of  Franklin  McCue;  8.  Mary,  wife  of  Dr. 
Edward  G.  Moorman  ;  and  9.  Rebecca,  wife  of  Stuart  McClung,  of 
Greenbrier. 

III.  William  Crawford,  son  of  Patrick  and  Sally,  was  born  August  6, 
1767.  His  wife  was  Nancy  Smith.  (See  "The  Smiths.")  He  lived  in 
Rockingham,  and  was  the  father  of  the  late  Benjamin  Crawford,  of 
Staunton,  William  Crawford,  of  Fort  Defiance,  and  others. 

IV.  James  Crawford,  twin  brother  of  William,  died  unmarried. 

The  James  Crawford,  who  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Patrick  Craw- 
ford, died  in  1798,  leaving  to  survive  him  his  widow  and  six  children. 
A  seventh  child  was  born  after  her  father's  death.  His  sons  were 
George,  William,  James  and  John;  and  his  daughters,  Sarah,  Elizabeth 
and  Polly.  George  died  unmarried  and  under  age;  William  also  died 
unmarried,  as  did  James,  who  was  known  as  "Jocky  Jim  Crawford"; 
John  married  Margaret  Bell,  daughter  of  Major  William  Bell,  and  died 
in  1819.  without  issue;  Sarah  Crawford  married  Charles  McClung, 
Elizabeth  married  Colonel  Samuel  McClung.  and  Polly  (the  posthumous 
child)  was  the  first  wife  of  John  Allen.    (See  "  The  Aliens.") 

We  have  found  it  impossible  to  obtain  any  satisfactory  account  of  the 
parentage  of  the  late  Colonel  James  Crawford,  or  of  his  relationship 
with  the  Patrick  Crawford  family.  His  father,  said  to  have  been  named 
John,  died  while  a  young  man,  leaving  two  children — James  and  Samuel. 
Tliese  boys  were  reared  by  a  paternal  uncle  called  "  Robin,"  who  re- 
moved to  Kentucky.  James  Crawford,  recently  mentioned,  who  died 
in  1798,  is  said  to  have  been  a  brother  of  John  and  Robin.  Colonel 
Crawford  was  a  lawyer  in  Staunton  for  many  years.     After  retiring  from 


430  SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE 

the  bar  to  his  farm,  he  was  an  efficient  justice  of  the  peace,  president 
of  the  county  court,  etc.,  etc.  His  first  wife  was  a  sister  of  Erasmus 
Stribhng,  and  his  second,  the  widow  of  his  cousin,  John  Crawford.  Cap- 
tain Samuel  Crawford,  brother  of  James,  was  the  Lieutenant  Crawford 
of  the  war  of  1812.  (See  page  233.)  His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  the 
Rev.  William  Wilson. 


THE  BELLS. 


Three  or  more  persons  named  Bell,  not  at  all  related,  as  far  as 
known,  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  Augusta  county.  Two  of 
these,  and  perhaps  three,  were  named  James.  A  James  Bell  was  a 
member  of  the  first  County  Court. 

To  distinguish  between  the  families,  we  shall  designate  them  by  the 
respective  neighborhoods  in  which  they  lived — North  Mountain,  Stone 
Church,  and  Long  Glade. 

North  Mountain  Betls. — The  first  of  this  family  in  the  county  was 
James  Bell,  who  located  on  a  tract  of  land  one  mile  and  a  half  east  of 
Buffalo  Gap,  on  a  part  of  which  his  descendant,  John  Christian,  lives  at 
present  (1888).  It  was  his  dwelling  that  was  raided  by  Indians,  as 
related  on  page  30.  His  children  were  three  sons,  James,  Samuel  and 
Francis,  and  three  daughters,  Ann,  Betty  and  Mary. 

I.  James  Bell,  son  of  James,  removed  to  Kentucky  and  located  near 
Lexington.  He  was  a  near  neighbor  of  Henry  Clay,  who  consequently 
visited  the  Bells  of  Buffalo  Gap  several  times  on  his  trips  to  and  from 
Washington. 

II.  Samuel,  known  for  many  years  before  his  death  as  Major  Bell. 
He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution,  while  quite  young,  and,  witii  many 
of  his  countymen,  was  with  Morgan  at  the  Cowpens.  He  lived  on  the 
farm  recently  owned  by  his  son,  Samuel  H.  Bell,  and  now  by  Archibald 
A.  Sproul,  a  short  distance  west  of  Swoope's  Depot. 

Major  Bell  was  married  three  times.  His  first  wife  was  Nancy, 
daughter  of  James  Bell,  of  Long  Glade,  and  her  children  were  :  i. 
Sarah,  wife  of  Robert  Christian  ;  2.  James,  who  was  a  lieutenant  in  the 
war  of  1812,  and  known  for  many  years  as  Captain  James  Bell ;  and 
3.  Nancy,  wife  of  John  Brownlee,  of  the  Greenville  neighborhood. 

The  second  wife  of  Major  Bell  was  a  Miss  Cunningham,  who  had  one 
child,  a  daughter,  who  died  young. 

The  third  wife  was  Rebecca  Hays,  mother  of  Samuel  H.  Bell,  de- 
ceased, and  Francis  Bell,  now  of  Pulaski  county. 

III.  Francis  Bell,  son  of  James,  married  Sally,  daughter  of  James 
Bell,  of  Long  Glade,  who  had  only  one  child,  a  son  named  James,  who 
died  in  his  youth. 

IV.  Ann  Bell,  wife  of  Francis  Gardiner,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution. 


ANNALS   OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  431 

Their  children  were  the  late  |ames  and  Samuel  Gardiner,  Mrs.  Henry 
Sterrett,  Mrs.  Robert  Wright,  and  others. 

V.  Bettv,  the  next  daughter,  was  the  wife  of  Benjamin  Brown,  and 
mother  of  Major  Joseph  Brown,  a  prominent  citizen  of  the  county  for 
many  years,  who  removed  to  Illinois  in  1837,  and  afterwards  to  Mis- 
souri. Major  Brown's  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Jacob  Swoope,  the  old 
merchant  and  Congressman. 

VI.  Mary,  third  daughter  of  James  Bell,  died  unmarried.' 

The  Stone  Church  Bells. — There  is  some  uncertainty  in  regard  to  the 
name  of  the  ancestor  of  this  family.  It  was  probably  Joseph,  as  a  Jo- 
seph Bell  purchased  a  lot  in  Staunton,  in  1747,  (see  page  39).  All  that  is 
certainly  known  of  him  is,  that  he  was  a  married  man  and  had  children, 
one  of  whom  was  named  Joseph,  and  that  he  and  his  wife  were  mur- 
dered. On  a  certain  Sunday,  the  year  not  known,  the  children  of  the 
family  went  to  church,  and  upon  returning  home  found  that  their  parents 
had  been  killed  in  their  dwelling.  Two  white  "indentured  servants,"  a 
man  and  a  woman,  who  had  disappeared  and  were  never  heard  of,  were 
supposed  to  have  perpetrated  the  deed. 

Joseph  Bell,  son  of  the  former,  was  born  in  Augusta,  May  25,  1742, 
and  died  in  1823.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth  Henderson.  Their  residence 
was  on  the  present  macadamized  turnpike,  about  four  miles  north  of 
Staunton. 

The  children  of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  Bell,  who  attained  maturity, 
were  three  sons  and  two  daughters.  One  of  the  daughters  was  the  wife 
of  the  senior  John  Wayt,  and  the  other  the  wife  of  Dr.  John  Johnston. 
(See  pages  198  and  200). 

I.  William  Bell,  son  of  Joseph,  known  as  Major  Bell,  was  for  many 
years  County  Surveyor  of  Augusta.  His  wife  was  Margaret,  daughter  of 
Captain  James  Allen  (see  "The  Aliens  ").  Their  only  son  was  the  late 
William  J.  D.  Bell.  Their  daughters  were  :  i.  Elizabeth  Allen,  wife  of 
Joseph  D.  Keyser,  of  Alleghany  county;  2.  Susan,  wife  of  James  Craig, 
of  Mount  Meridian,  Augusta;  3.  Mary,  wife  of  Addison  Hyde  ;  4.  Mar- 
garet A.,  who  married,  first,  John  Crawford  (he  dying  childless),  and, 
secondly.  Colonel  James  Crawford  ;  5.  Nancy,  wife  of  Zachariah  McChes- 
ney;  6.  ."^arah,  second  wife  of  John  Wayt,  Junior;  7.  Rebecca,  wife  of 
Benjamin  T.  Reid  ;  S.Julia,  wife  of  Alexander  W.  Arbuckle  of  Green- 
brier; and,  9.  Jane,  wife  of  Rev.  John  A.  Van  Lear. 

II.  James  Bell,  son  of  Joseph,  was  born  in  1772.  and  died  in  1856.  He 
was  long  the  senior  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  Augusta  (see  page  256)  His 
first  wife  was  Sarah,  daughter  of  Captain  James  Allen,  whose  ciiildren, 
leaving  posterity,  were  the  late  Colonel  William  A.  Bell,  and  Sarah,  first 
wife  of  John  Wayt,  Junior.  The  last  wife  of  James  Bell  was  Margaret 
Craig,  and  her\:hildren  were,  John  J.,  David  S.,  J.  Wayt,  and  Henderson 
M.  Bell,  Mrs.  Jane  Arbuckle,  of  Greenbrier,  Mrs.  Bettie  Kinney,  and 
Mrs.  Margaret  Young,  of  Staunton. 

III.  Joseph  Bell,  Junior,  the  third  son  of  Joseph,  Senior,  resided  during 


432  SUPPLEMENT    TO   THE 

most  of  his  life  in  Rockbridge  county,  near  Gosiien.  His  wife  was  a 
daughter  of  Alexander  Nelson  (see  page  225),  and  Nelson  Bell,  of  Rock- 
bridge, and  Johnston  E.  Bell,  of  Greenbrier,  are  two  of  his  sons. 

The  Bells  of  Long  G/ade—]a.m&s  Bell  came  from  Ireland  and  settled 
on  Long  Glade,  Augusta,  about  1740.  His  wife  was  Agnes  Hogshead. 
He  is  said  to  have  been  a  school  teacher,  and  also  a  surveyor  and 
scrivener.  He  probably  was  the  James  Bell  who  was  one  of  the  first 
county  magistrates  in  1745.     His  children  were  : 

I.  John  Bell  married  ttiree  times,  successively.  His  first  wife,  a  widow 
Young,  and  his  second,  Esther  Gamble  (sister  of  Colonel  Robert  Gam- 
ble), had  no  children.  His  third  wife.  Elizabeth  Griffith,  had  four  sons 
and  two  daughters.     He  served  two  "  tours  "  during  the  Revolution. 

The  children  of  John  and  Elizabeth  were:  i.  William,  and  2.  Abel 
(both  of  whom  went  to  Illinois);  3.  James  R.  Bell,  who  married  Mary 
J.  Brownlee.  He  served  in  the  Confederate  army,  Fifth  Virginia  regi- 
ment. Was  taken  sick  at  Swift  Run  Gap  in  1862,  and  died  in  a  short 
time.  His  son,  Brownlee  Bell,  a  member  of  Lilly's  company,  Twenty- 
fifth  regiment,  was  taken  prisoner,  and  died  at  Fort  Delaware  in  1863. 
Three  daughters  of  James  R.  Bell  survive.  4.  Francis,  died  young, 
unmarried.  5.  Mrs.  Rebecca  Curry,  of  Greenbrier.  6.  Mrs.  Nancy 
Whitmore,  of  Augusta. 

II.  William  Bell,  son  of  James  and  Agnes,  never  married.  Killed  in 
battle  during  the  Revolution. 

III.  Francis  Bell,  married  Polly  Ervin.     No  children. 

IV.  David  Bell  was  in  the  military  service  during  the  war  of  1812,  and 
was  called  Captain  Bell.  His  wife  was  a  Miss  Christian.  He  had  five 
children,  two  of  whom  died  young.    The  other  three  were — 

1.  James  Bell  married  Sarah  Coyner,  and  had  seven  sons,  six  of 
whom  served  in  the  Confederate  army  during  the  war  of  i86i-'5,  viz.: 
(i)  Alexander,  died  of  disease  contracted  in  the  army;  (2)  Addison, 
killed  at  Chancellorsville,  1863;  (3)  Luther,  died  of  disease  contracted 
in  the  army,  1862;  (4)  William,  severely  wounded  at  Kernstown,  March, 
1862,  practicing  medicine  in  Fauquier;  (5)  Daniel,  wounded  at  Gettys- 
burg, still  survives;  (6)  Frank,  wounded  during  war,  survives.  The 
first,  second,  fifth  and  sixth  were  members  of  Company  C,  Fifth  Vir- 
ginia regiment,  "  Stonewall  brigade  "  ;  the  third  was  a  member  of  the 
Fifty-second  regiment,  and  the  fourth  of  the  "  Liberty  Hall  "  company, 
Fourth  regiment.  Samuel,  the  seventh  son  of  James  and  Sarah  Bell, 
was  not  in  the  army,  being  quite  young. 

2.  John  Bell,  son  of  David,  married  Sophia  Ervin,  and  had  seven  sons 
and  two  daughters,  viz:  (i)  David,  Company  C,  Fifth  regiment,  died  in 
military  hospital  at  Lynchburg,  June  24,  1863;  (2)  Elisha,  member  of 
Carpenter's  Battery,  wounded  at  Antietam,  lives  near  F^-edericksburg; 
(3)  William,  Company  C,  Fifth  regiment,  wounded  at  Cedar  Creek,  1864, 
survives;  (4)  Alexander,  Company  C,  Fifth  regiment,  taken  prisoner  at 
Antietam,  and  died  at  Fort  Delaware,  September  24,  1863 ;  (5)  Hendren, 


ANNALS    OF   AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  433 

Company  C,  Fifth  regiment,  severely  wounded  at  Gettysburg,  and  after- 
wards courier  for  General  John  B.  Gordon,  lives  in  Augusta;  (6)  John, 
practicing  medicine  in  Chicago;  (7)  Samuel,  practicing  medicine  on 
Long  Glade,  Augusta;  (8)  Mary,  married  George  H.  Ervin  ;  (9)  Marga- 
ret, not  married. 
3.  Betsy,  daughter  of  David  Bell,  married  Bethuel  Herring. 

V.  James  Bell,  son  of  James  and  Agnes,  went  to  Kentucky  and  died 
childless 

VI.  Thomas  Bell,  son  of  James  and  Agnes,  married  Rebecca  Robert- 
son, of  Botetourt.  He  inherited  his  father's  homestead,  the  present 
Dudley  farm,  and  died  in  1854,  aged  eighty-two  years.  His  children 
were — 

I.James,  married  Annie  Blair,  and  had  seven  children,  viz:  (i) 
Thpmas  M.,  Company  C,  Fifth  regiment,  mortally  wounded  at  Chan- 
cellorsville,  May  3,  1863;  (2)  James  A.,  Company  C,  Fifth  regiment, 
severely  wounded  at  Kernstown  and  died  in  consequence.  The  remain- 
ing children  of  James  and  Annie  Bell  are  daughters,  all  single. 

2.  Alexander  R.  Bell,  son  of  Thomas  and  Rebecca,  married  Clara 
Hogshead,  and  had  two  sons  and  five  daughters.  His  son,  Thomas  A., 
Fifth  regiment,  killed  at  Spotsylvania  Courthouse  in  1864,  His  son, 
James  F.,  and  three  daughters  survive.  One  of  the  daughters  is  the 
wife  of  Samuel  Bell,  son  of  Samuel,  and  another  the  wife  of  Moses 
Hutton,  of  Hardy  county. 

3.  Samuel  Bell,  son  of  Thomas  and  Rebecca,  married  Sarah  Eidson, 
and  had  seven  children.  His  son,  Thomas  P.,  sergeant  of  Company  C, 
Fifth  regiment,  was  mortally  wounded  at  Hatcher's  Creek,  Dinwiddie 
county,  February,  1865.  Another  son,  John  V.,  served  in  Fitz.  Lee's 
cavalry.     Four  sons  and  one  daughter  survive. 

VIL  Nancy  Bell,  daughter  of  James  and  Agnes,  was  the  first  wife  of 
Major  Samuel  Bell,  of  North  Mountain. 

VIIL  Sally  Bell,  daughter  of  James  and  Agnes,  was  the  wife  of 
Francis  Bell,  of  North  Mountain 

Of  the  descendants  of  James  and  Agnes  Bell,  eighteen  were  soldiers 
in  the  Confederate  army  during  the  war  of  i86i-'5  ;  five  were  killed  in 
battle  or  died  of  wounds,  and  six  died  of  disease  contracted  in  the 
army. 

CAPTURE    AND     RESCUE     OF     MRS.    ESTILL     AND 
JAMES  TRIMBLE. 


Allusion  is  made  on  page  126  to  the  capture  by  Indians  of  "one  of 
the  Trimbles"  near  the  present  village  of  Churchville ;  and  on  page 
191  the  captur.e  of  Mrs.  Estill  is  referred  to.  Since  the  publication  of 
the  Annals,  the  writer  has  obtained  much  information  in  regard  to  the 
capture  of  the  persons  named,  and  the  circumstances  are  too  interesting 
to  be  omitted  here. 


434  SUPPLEMENT    TO   THE 

Mrs.  Estill  and  young  Trimble,  her  half-brother,  afterwards  Captain 
James  Trimble,  were  captured  at  the  same  time,  but  in  what  year  was 
until  recently  unknown.  One  writer  puts  the  date  as  1752;  another, 
1758;  a  third,  1770,  and  a  fourth,  1778.  The  incident  occurred,  how- 
ever, in  1764,  during  the  last  Indian  raid  into  the  county,  and  about  the 
time  of  the  second  Kerr's  Creek  massacre.  All  accounts  agree  in  the 
statement  that  John  Trimble,  the  father  of  James  and  step-father  of 
Mrs.  Estill,  was  killed  at  the  time  of  the  capture,  and  the  records  of 
the  county  show  that  his  death  occurred  in  the  fall  of  1764.  He  lived 
on  Middle  river,  two  miles  from  Churchville,  five  from  Buffalo  Gap,  and 
seven  from  Staunton,  or  thereabouts; 

Besides  the  date  of  this  occurrence,  there  is  much  diversity  of  state- 
ment in  regard  to  many  of  the  circumstances.  The  memoir  of  Mrs. 
Jane  Trimble,  wife  of  Captain  James  Trimble,  written  by  her  grandson, 
the  Rev.  Joseph  M.  Trimble,  D.  D.,  a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Church, 
gives  the  most  detailed  account  of  the  affair  which  we  have  seen.  The 
author  states  that  a  white  man  named  Dickinson,  who  had  fled  from 
Virginia  to  escape  punishment  for  crime,  entered  the  Valley  at  the 
head  of  thirty  Indians,  and  encouraged  them  in  their  cruel  work. 
They  raided  the  dwelling  of  John  Trimble,  and  killed  him  as  he  was 
going  out  in  the  morning  to  plow.  James,  then  a  boy  about  eight 
years  old,  his  half  sister,  Mrs.  Estill,  and  a  negro  boy  were  taken 
prisoners.  Mr.  Estill,  according  to  this  account,  was  wounded,  but 
escaped.  Where  Mrs.  Trimble  and  other  members  of  the  family  were 
at  the  time,  or  how  they  escaped,  is  not  stated.  A  strong  stone  house 
stood  then,  as  now,  on  the  opposite  side  of  Middle  river,  within  a  mile 
of  Trimble's,  and  possibly  some  of  the  family  had  taken  refuge  there. 
It  was  called  a  fort,  and  is  known  as  the  "Old  Keller  House."  The 
Indians  must  have  passed  this  house  in  coming  from  Ale.xander  Craw- 
ford's to  John  Trimble's.  The  Trimble  dwelling  was  stripped  by  the 
Indians  of  its  most  valuable  contents,  and  then  burned.  Four  horses 
were  taken  and  loaded  with  the  plunder.  The  Indians,  with  their 
prisoners  and  horses,  retreated  to  a  cave  in  the  North  Mountain,  where 
they  had  arranged  to  meet  two  other  divisions  of  their  party.  They 
traveled  all  night  and  met  their  comrades  in  the  morning,  who  had 
secured  prisoners  and  plunder  in  other  bettlements.  The  united  bands 
prosecuted  their  retreat  with  great  rapidity  for  five  days  and  nights. 

The  statement  that  Trimble  was  going  out  to  plow  when  the  Indians 
assailed  him  is  a  local  tradition. 

The  morning  after  the  murder  of  John  Trimble,  Captain  George 
Moffett,  his  step-son,  and  the  brother  of  Mrs.  Estill,  was  in  pursuit  of 
the  enemy,  with  twenty-five  men  collected  during  the  previous  night. 
Tht  Indians  had  fifteen  hours'  start,  but  Moffett  and  his  party  rapidly 
gained  on  them.  The  fact  that  the  pursuers  moved  more  rapidly  than 
the  pursued  was  a  well  known  one  in  Indian  warfare,  the  latter  being 
generally  encumbered  and  losing  time  in  the  effort  to  conceal  their 
trail.     In  the  morning  of  the  fifth  day,  the  whites  in  front  of  their  party 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  435 

discovered  the  Indians  on  a  spur  of  the  Alleghany  Mountain,  and  upon 
a  consultation  it  was  concluded  to  pause  in  the  pursuit  and  make  an 
attack  after  dark. 

The  Indians  had  stopped  at  a  spring  near  the  foot  of  the  mountain. 
Their  food  was  exhausted,  and  Dickinson  had  gone  in  search  of  game. 
MofTett's  party  were  within  a  mile  of  the  savages,  and  stealthily  draw- 
ing nearer,  when  they  were  startled  by  the  report  of  a  gun.  Supposing 
they  had  been  discovered,  the  whites  dropped  their  knapsacks  and 
started  in  a  run  towards  the  Indians.  They  had  gone  only  a  few  hun- 
dred yards  when  a  wounded  deer  bounded  across  their  path.  One  of 
the  men  struck  the  animal  in  its  face  with  his  hat,  which  caused  it  to 
turn  and  run  back.  Another  report  of  a  gun  and  a  whoop,  satisfied  the 
whites  that  one  of  the  Indian  party  had  killed  the  deer,  and  that  the 
whoop  was  a  call  for  help  to  carry  it  into  camp.  An  Indian  on  horse- 
back was  immediately  seen  approaching  at  a  rapid  pace.  The  whites, 
concealed  in  tall  grass,  were  not  discovered  by  him  till  he  was  in  the 
midst  of  them ;  and  they  dispatched  him  in  an  instant,  before  his  com- 
panions in  camp  were  aware  of  their  approach. 

Some  of  the  prisoners  were  tied  with  tugs,  while  the  women  and  boys 
were  unconfined.  Mrs.  Estill  was  sitting  on  a  log  sewing  ruffles  on  a 
shirt  of  her  husband,  at  the  bidding  of  the  Indian  who  claimed  her  as 
his  prize.  James  Trimble  was  at  the  spring  getting  water.  The  In- 
dians had  barely  time  to  get  their  guns  before  the  whites  were  upon 
them.  At  first,  most  of  the  startled  prisoners  ran  some  distance,  and, 
becoming  mingled  with  the  Indians,  it  was  impossible  for  the  rescuers 
to  fire;  but  discovering  their  mistake,  they  turned  and  ran  to  their 
friends.  Then  the  firing  began  on  both  sides.  The  negro  boy  was  shot, 
and  from  the  blood  discovered  on  the  trail  of  the  Hying  Indians,  it  was 
evident  that  several  of  them  were  wounded. 

Moffett  and  his  party  desisted  from  the  pursuit,  and  collecting  the 
stolen  property  and  removing  to  a  distance,  spent  the  night.  Early  the 
next  morning  they  began  their  homeward  journey.  The  Indians,  how- 
ever, rallied,  and  getting  ahead  of  the  whites  sought  to  ambush  them 
in  a  narrow  pass.  In  this  they  failed,  as  also  in  another  attempt  of  the 
same  kind,  in  a  laurel  thicket.  They  then  fell  to  the  rear  and  followed 
the  whites  for  several  days;  but  being  foiled  in  all  their  schemes,  they 
turned  off  to  an  unprotected  settlement,  which  was  assailed  in  their 
usual  manner.  The  Augusta  men  reached  home  unhurt,  except  one 
who  was  wounded  in  the  mountain  pass,  and  was  carried  on  a  litter. 
The  loss  of  the  Indians  was  six  killed  and  several  badly  wounded. 

Such  is  the  account  given  in  the  memoir  of  Mrs.  Trimble. 

In  Collins's  History  of  Kentucky  (volume  II,  page  767),  we  find  a 
sketch  of  Captain  James  Trimble,  which  gives  a  different  version  of  the 
affair.  The  writer  of  this  account  states  that  the  prisoners  were  captured 
by  a  party  of  nine  Indians,  led  by  a  half-breed  named  Dickson  ;  that 
immediately  after  the  capture,  James  Trimble  was  adopted  as  a  son  by 
Dickson;   that  Captain  Moffett  raised  a  party  of  eighteen  men,  and 


436  SUPPLEMENT   TO   THE 


overtook  the  Indians  near  the  present  Whit^ulphur  Springs ;  and  that 
at  the  first  fire  all  the  Indians  were  killed,  except  Dickson,  who  escaped. 

The  late  John  A.  Trimble,  of  Ohio,  a  son  of  Captain  James  Trimble, 
in  one  of  his  numerous  and  interesting  communications  to  the  Hillsboro 
Gazette,  gave  a  third  account  of  the  affair.  Describing  a  trip  he  made 
on  horseback  from  Mossy  creek,  in  Augusta  county,  to  his  home  in 
Ohio,  probably  in  1827,  Mr.  Trimble  said: 

"  I  was  soon  in  the  wild  pass  of  the  North  Mountain,  and  approaching 
Buffalo  Gap,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  early  home  of  my  father,  when  I  over- 
took a  venerable  old  gentleman  on  horseback,  who  gave  me  his  name, 
William  Kincaid,  and  inquired  my  name  and  residence.  He  said  the 
name  was  familiar;  he  had  known  a  Captain  James  Trimble  who  was 
a  native  of  Augusta.  When  informed  that  he  was  my  father,  the  old 
gentlemen  was  startled;  he  stopped  his  horse  and  shook  hands  most 
cordially.  '  Is  it  possible ! '  he  exclaimed.  'Why,  I  was  a  young  man 
of  eighteen  when  your  father  was  a  prisoner,  with  his  sister,  young  Mrs. 
Edmonson,  afterwards  Estill,  and  I  was  one  of  the  twelve  men  who 
went  with  Colonel  George  Moffett  in  pursuit,  and  rescued  the  prisoners 
away  across  the  AUeghanies.  Why,  it  seems  as  fresh  to  my  memory  as 
of  yesterday,  and  we  are  now  within  a  few  miles  of  where  your  grand- 
father was  killed  and  his  house  pillaged  by  Dickson  and  his  ferocious 
band  of  Shawnees.  But  we  had  our  revenge,  and  Dickson,  their  leader, 
with  a  boy,  were  the  only  ones  who  escaped  from  our  rifles,  for  we  took 
them  completely  by  surprise,  feasting  and  sleeping  around  their  camp- 
fire.'  "  Mr.  Kincaid  said  that  ''at  one  time  Colonel  Moffett  seemed  dis- 
couraged, having  lost  the  trail,  when,  fortunately,  one  of  the  men  found 
the  blue-worsted  garter  of  Mrs.  Edmonson  hanging  on  a  bush,  where 
she  had  placed  it  while  traveling  at  night." 

Kincaid  and  James  Trimble  were  both  members  of  Captain  George 
Mathews's  company  at  Point  Pleasant,  in  1774. 

We  may  add  that  a  family  of  "  Edmistons  "  lived  in  the  county  as 
early  as  1746,  but  we  have  no  information  other  than  the  above  that 
Kitty  Moffett  was  the  widow  of  one  of  them  when  she  married  Benja- 
min Estill. 

We  have  still  another  account  of  the  killing  of  John  Trimble  and 
capture  of  his  son  and  step-daughter,  embraced  in  a  letter  written  by 
Mr.  John  A.  Trimble,  March  28,  1843,  a  copy  of  which  is  in  the  hands  of 
Judge  John  H.  McCue,  of  Staunton. 

In  this  letter  Mr.  Trimble  gives  the  date  as  1770,  an  error  of  six  years, 
his  grandfather  having  been  killed  in  1764.  He  says  his  father,  James 
Trimble,  and  a  negro  boy  named  Adam,  while  plowing  corn,  were  sur- 
prised by  a  party  of  Indians  and  made  prisoners.  [It  is  probable  that 
the  negro  was  plowing/cr  wheat,  as  James  Trimble  was  too  young  at 
the  time  to  hold  the  plow,  being  only  eight  years  old,  and  the  season 
(October)  was  too  late  for  corn.]  The  alarm  was  given  at  the  house  by 
the  horses  running  off,  and,  suspecting  the  cause,  the  father,  John  Trim- 
ble, proceeded  with  his  gun  to  reconnoitre.    The  Indians,  having  secured 


ANNALS"  OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  437 

the  prisoners  and  left  them  in  charge  of  several  lads,  started  to  the 
house.  On  the  way  they  encountered  John  Trimble  in  a  strip  of  woods, 
and  shot  and  scalped  him.  His  wife  escaped  from  the  dwelling  and 
concealed  herself  near  enough  to  witness  the  plundering  and  burning 
of  the  premises.  Mrs.  Estill  (so  called  here  by  Mr.  Trmible)  was 
enceinte,  and  being  unable  to  fly  was  made  prisoner.  Nothing  is  said 
in  reference  to  Mr.  Estill. 

While  this  was  going  on,  the  young  Indians  were  amusing  themselves 
by  throwing  their  tomahawks  at  the  tree  to  which  James  Trimble  was 
tied,  often  just  missing  his  head. 

The  account  given  by  Mr.  Trimble,  in  this  letter,  of  the  retreat  of  the 
Indians,  the  pursuit  by  Captain  Moffett,  and  the  rescue  of  the  prisoners, 
is  substantially  the  same  as  that  given  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Trimble.  He, 
however,  says  nothing  about  ''a  cave  in  the  North  Mountain,"  or  any 
other  parties  of  Indians,  and  says  the  number  of  men  with  Moffett  was 
fifteen  or  twenty.    The  number  of  Indians  he  puts  at  eight  or  nine. 

Dickson  is  said  to  have  been  a  renegade  half-blood  Indian,  who  was 
well-known  to  the  white  settlers,  among  whom  he  had  lived  for  several 
years.  When  hostilities  broke  out  he  joined  a  band  of  Shawnees,  and 
became  a  formidable  leader.  He  had  often  been  at  John  Trimble's 
house,  and  after  scalping  Trimble,  exhibited  the  trophy  to  the  boy 
James,  saying:  "Jim,  here's  the  old  man's  scalp.  Do  you  know  it?  If 
you  stay  with  me,  I  will  make  a  good  Indian  of  you  ;  but  if  you  try  to 
run  off,  I  will  have  your  scalp."  He  treated  Mrs.  Estill  with  respect, 
walking  constantly  by  her  side  as  she  rode  on  a  horse  through  the 
passes  of  the  mountains.  Mrs.  Estill's  first  child  was  born  a  few  weeks 
after  her  return. 

The  negro  boy  Adam  was  a  native  African  of  recent  importation,  and 
spoke  but  little  English.  Mr.  Trimble  often  heard  him,  in  his  old  age, 
relate  the  incidents  of  his  captivity.  During  the  retreat  of  the  Indians, 
Adam  one  day  stirred  up  a  "yellow  jacket's  nest,"  just  as  the  sparsely- 
clad  savages  were  filing  along,  and  some  of  them  were  assailed  and 
stung  by  the  insects.  This  so  pleased  the  simple-minded  negro  that  he 
was  about  to  repeat  the  act,  when  the  Indian  boys  administered  to  him 
a  sound  beating. 

Just  before  the  arrival  of  the  whites  at  the  Indian  camp,  Dickson  sent 
James  Trimble  to  the  spring  for  water,  which,  being  somewhat  muddy 
when  presented,  was  thrown  in  the  face  of  the  boy,  who  was  threatened 
with  the  tomahawk,  and  ordered  to  bring  another  supply.  He  returned 
to  the  spring,  and  while  waiting  for  the  water  to  clear  was  startled  by 
the  report  of  rifles.  Surmising  that  rescuers  were  at  hand,  he  ran  in 
the  direction  of  the  sound  and  placed  himself  among  his  friends. 

At  the  moment  of  the  firing,  Dickson  was  standing  by  Mrs.  Estill, 
leaning  on  his  gun,  and  giving  directions  about  ruffling  a  shirt  she  was 
making  for  him.  She  sprang  to  her  feet  and  ran  towards  the  whites, 
taking  the  precaution  to  snatch  up  a  tin  vessel  and  cover  her  head  with 
it.    Dickson  pursued  her,  and  hurling  his  tomahawk,  knocked  the  vessel 


438  SUPPLEMENT    TO   THE 

off  without  injury  to  her  person.  He  almost  immediately  confronted 
Captain  Moffett,  at  whom  he  fired,  but  missed,  and  then  turned  and 
fled,  making  good  his  escape.     Moffett's  gun  was  empty. 

Adam  had  concealed  himself  during  the  firing  behind  a  tree,  and 
being  mistaken  for  an  Indian  was  shot  at  by  one  of  the  white  men  and 
wounded  slightly  in  the  arm. 

Mr.  Trimble  states  that,  except  Dickson,  all  the  Indians  fell  at  the 
first  fire,  either  killed  or  mortally  wounded.  Dickson  followed  the 
whites  on  their  return,  and  fired  upon  and  wounded  one  of  them, 
named  Russell,  who  was  carried  home  on  a  litter.  Russell  encountered 
Dickson  at  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant,  and  killed  him  in  a  hand-to- 
hand  conflict. 

It  is  said  that  the  whole  number  of  prisoners  carried  off  by  the 
Indians  and  rescued  as  described  was  six  or  eight;  but  who  they  were, 
besides  those  mentioned,  is  not  stated. 


MASSACRE  OF  THOS.  GARDINER  AND  HIS  MOTHER. 


Thomas  Gardiner,  Jr.,  lived  on  a  farm  lying  on  Dry  Branch,  Augusta 
county,  two  and  a  half  miles  northeast  of  Buffalo  Gap,  where  John  A. 
Lightner  now  lives.  According  to  tradition,  he  and  his  mother  were 
killed  by  Indians,  but  exactly  when  is  not  known.  His  wife,  Rebecca, 
qualified  as  administratrix  of  his  estate,  June  19,  1764,  and  it  is  pre- 
sumed that  his  death  occurred  a  short  time  before  that  date.  Tradition 
states  that,  on  a  Sunday  evening,  he  went  out  to  see  after  a  cow  and 
calf,  and  was  killed  at  the  spring,  within  a  hundred  yards  of  his  dwell- 
ing. No  one  knows  by  what  means  his  wife  and  children  escaped,  nor 
where  his  mother  was  when  killed.  He  had  two  sons,  one  of  whom, 
Samuel,  was  the  ancestor  of  the  Mint  Spring  Gardiners.  The  other, 
Francis,  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  who  died  July  26,  1842, 
father  of  the  late  James  and  Samuel  Gardiner  and  others. 

Thomas  Gardiner  was  a  near  neighbor  of  Alexander  Crawford,  who 
also  was  killed  by  Indians,  as  related  elsewhere  in  this  Supplement. 
[See  "The  Crawfords."]  Their  dwellings  were  about  two  miles  apart. 
Gardiner  was  killed  before  June  19,  1764,  as  stated,  and  possibly  Craw- 
ford's death  occurred  at  the  same  time.  If  the  Indians  came  through 
Buffalo  Gap,  they  must  have  passed  Crawford's  dwelling  to  reach 
Gardiner's,  and  it  would  seem  unaccountable  that  the  one  should  be 
taken  and  the  other  left.  But  the  proceedings  of  Indians  were  often 
as  eccentric  as  the  devastations  of  a  spring  frost,  which  cuts  down  one 
stalk  of  corn  and  passes  over  another.  All  we  know  certainly  in 
regard  to  Crawford's  latter  days  is,  that  he  was  alive  February  18,  1762, 
when  he  became  one  of  the  securities  of  Thomas  Gardiner,  Jr.,  in  a 
guardian's  bond ;    and  that  he  was  dead  by  November  court,   1764, 


ANNALS   OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  439 

when  his  administrator  qualified.  He  owned  an  unusual  amount  of 
personal  property,  and  in  the  ordinary  course  of  affairs  his  administra- 
tor would  qualify  as  soon  as  possible  after  his  death.  It  is,  therefore, 
probable  that  he  was  a  victim  of  the  Indian  raid  of  October,  1764. 

We  have  no  information  of  any  Indian  raid  into  the  county  in  the 
spring,  or  early  summer,  of  1764,  except  the  fact  of  the  Gardiner  mas- 
sacre, just  mentioned.  This  massacre  may  have  been  perpetrated  by 
a  single  Indian,  who  penetrated  by  himself  into  the  settlement.  It  is 
not  said,  however,  that  even  one  Indian  was  seen  by  a  white  man  at 
that  time,  and  a  white  ruffian  may  have  committed  the  murders  for  the 
sake  of  plunder.  An  old  story  says  that  Gardiner  had  money  buried 
in  an  iron  pot,  which  his  descendants  could  never  find.  Quite  recently 
an  empty  ancient  pot  was  found  on  the  premises,  having  been  washed 
out  by  a  freshet,  and  it  is  thought  to  give  color  to  the  story. 


Some  Curious  Orders  of  Court. — The  November  term,  1764,  of 
the  County  Court  of  Augusta  was  a  very  busy  one.  It  began  on  the 
2oth  and  continued  five  days.  The  proceedings  cover  seventy-six  folio 
pages.  At  this  term,  Silas  Hart  qualified  as  high  sheriff,  and  Dabney 
Carr,  of  Albemarle,  as  attorney-at-law.  The  estates  of  John  Trimble 
and  Alexander  Crawford,  both  of  whom  had  been  killed  by  Indians  in 
October  preceding,  were  committed  to  their  respective  administrators. 
William  Fleming,  Sampson  Mathews,  George  Skillern,  Alexander  Mc- 
Clanahan  and  Benjamin  Estill  were  recommended  for  appointment  as 
justices  of  the  peace. 

Among  the  orders  we  find  the  following :  "  Jacob  Peterson  having  pro- 
duced a  certificate  of  his  having  received  the  Sacrament,  and  having 
taken  the  usual  oaths  to  his  Majesty's  person  and  government,  sub- 
scribed the  abjuration  oath  and  test,  which  is,  on  his  motion,  ordered 
to  be  certified,  in  order  to  his  obtaining  Letters  of  Naturalization." 

The  clerk  who  wrote  the  orders  sometimes  set  the  rules  of  grammar 
and  spelling  at  defiance,  as  witness  the  following,  which  we  copy  liter- 
ally : 

"  On  complaint  of  Patrick  Lacey,  setting  forth  that  his  master,  William 
Snoden,  doth  not  provide  cloaths  for  him,  nor  will  Imploy  him  as  his 
servant:  It  is  ordered  that  the  said  Snoden  be  summoned  to  appear 
here  the  next  Court,  to  answer  the  said  complaint ;  and  it  is  further  or- 
dered that  the  Church-wardens  provide  him  Necessary  Cloaths  and  that 
tney  in  the  meantime  hire  him  out  to  such  persons  that  may  think  proper 
to  Imploy  him." 

Patrick  was  no  doubt  a  white  "  indented  servant  "  (see  page  17).  His 
complaint  came  up  at  March  court,  1765,  and  was  dismissed,  very  likely 
to  the  relief  of  the  master,  who  thus  escaped  being  clothed  and  hired 
out  by  the  church-wardens,  as  the  order  required  he  should  be. 

Another  order  of  November  term,  1764,  is  equally  curious  :  "  Ordered 


440  SUPPLEMENT   TO    THE 

that  the  church- warHens  of  Augusta  Parish  bind  Michael  Eagin  of  the 
age  of  nine  years  in  September  last,  son  of  Patrick  Eagin,  to  John  Pat- 
rick, the  father  of  the  said  Michael  having  runaway  according  to  law." 


THE  ACADIAN  FRENCH— ALEXANDER  McNUTT. 


The  history  of  the  expulsion  of  the  Acadian  French  from  Nova 
Scotia  is  one  of  the  darkest  pages  in  the  annals  of  Great  Britain.  The 
ancestors  of  these  people  settled  in  the  province  before  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers  landed  on  Plymouth  Rock.  They  occupied  a  beautiful  and 
fertile  country,  and  in  course  of  time  farmhouses  and  villages  sprang 
up  over  the  country.  By  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  in  1713,  the  province 
was  ceded  to  Great  Britain,  and  the  French  population  submitted  to 
the  transfer  without  opposition.  They,  however,  for  some  years,  re- 
fused to  swear  allegiance  to  the  new  Government.  When  war  again 
arose  between  England  and  France,  the  French  of  Nova  Scotia  were 
regarded  with  distrust  by  their  British  rulers,  and  it  was  determined  to 
expel  them  from  the  province.  Their  villages  were  laid  waste,  and  the 
country  was  reduced  to  a  solitude.  Seven  thousand  men,  women  and 
children  were  driven  on  board  ships,  and  scattered  among  the  English 
colonies  from  New  Hampshire  to  Georgia.  In  1755,  eleven  hundred 
and  forty  of  these  "French  Neutrals,"  as  they  were  called,  were  landed 
at  Hampton,  in  Virginia,  without  means  of  support,  or  previous  notice 
of  their  coming.  Governor  Dinwiddie  and  his  Council  maintained 
them  at  the  public  expense  for  four  months,  but  the  opposition  on  the 
part  of  the  people  to  their  remaining  in  the  colony  was  universal.  No 
public  land  remained  in  lower  Virginia  upon  which  to  settle  them,  and 
west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  the  French  and  Indians  were  waging  a  ruthless 
war  upon  the  frontier  settlers,  rendering  it  unsafe  to  send  them  to  that 
region.  The  Governor  described  them  in  one  of  his  numerous  letters 
as  "bigoted  Papists,  lazy,  and  of  a  contentious  behavior."  Finally, 
when  the  General  Assembly  met,  it  was  determined  by  that  body  to 
ship  the  unfortunate  people  to  England,  and  this  was  done  at  a  cost  to 
the  colony  of  ;^5,ooo. 

On  pages  46,  82  and  84  mention  is  made  of  Alexander  McNutt  as  a 
resident  of  Augusta  county.  He  is  supposed  to  have  been  in  confidential 
relations  with  Governor  Dinwiddie,  to  whom  (and  not  to  Governor  Fau- 
quier) he  delivered  his  account  of  the  Sandy  Creek  Expedition  of  1756. 
After  his  affray  in  Staunton  with  Andrew  Lewis,  he  went  to  England, 
and,  being  recommended  by  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  was  admitted 
to  an  audience  by  the  King.  Ever  afterwards  he  wore  the  prescribed 
court  dress.  The  French  having  been  driven  out  of  Nova  Scotia  as 
related,  McNutt  received   from   the  Government  grants  of  extensive 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  441 

tracts  of  land  in  that  province  upon  condition  of  introducing  other 
settlers.  He  accordingly  brought  over  many  people  from  the  north  of 
Ireland,  including  persons  of  his  own  name,  and  a  sister,  who  married 
a  Mr.  VV^eir.  Admiral  Cochrane,  of  the  British  navy,  is  believed  to  be 
a  descendant  of  Mrs.  Weir,  and  other  of  her  descendants  are  now  living 
in  Nova  Scotia. 

A  letter  from  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  published  in  the  Boston  Gazette 
of  October  26,  1761,  says :  "  Last  Friday  arrived  here  the  ship  Hopewell, 
of  Londonderrv,  by  which  came  upwards  of  two  hundred  persons  for 
the  settlement  of  this  Province,  with  Colonel  Alexander  McNutt.  who, 
we  are  informed,  has  contracted  for  five  thousand  bushels  of  wheat, 
five  thousand  bushels  of  potatoes,  etc.,  etc.,  for  the  use  of  the  Irish 
settlers."  In  November,  1762,  McNutt  arrived  with  one  hundred  and 
seventy  settlers,  and  at  different  times  with  many  more.  The  last  men- 
tion of  him  in  the  arcliives  of  the  Province  is  in  1769,  wlien  the  Attor- 
ney-General complained  that  he  had  parceled  out  certain  lands  without 
authority. 

While  living  in  Nova  Scotia,  in  1761,  McNutt  executed  a  power  of 
attorney,  authorizing  his  brother,  John,  to  sell  and  convey  his  real  estate. 
In  pursuance  of  tiiis  instrument,  John  McNutt,  on  August  16,  1785,  con- 
veyed to  Thomas  Smith,  in  consideration  of  £\\o,  lot  No.  10  in  Staun- 
ton, which  was  purchased  by  Alexander  in  1750  for  ^3,  as  stated  on  page 
46.  Buildings  afterwards  erected  on  tlie  lot  were  long  known  as  the 
"  Bell  Tavern."  Captain  Thomas  Smith  was  the  father  in-law  of  Michael 
Garber,  who  came  into  possession  of  the  property  and  owned  it  for 
many  years. 

Alexander  McNutt  seems  to  have  returned  to  Nova  Scotia  after  the 
Revolution,  as  in  the  deed  of  17S5  he  is  described  as  "late  of  Augusta 
county,  now  of  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia."  But  he  did  not  remain  there 
long.  He  appears  to  have  been  a  visionary  man,  and  in  his  latter  years, 
at  least  somewhat  of  a  religious  enthusiast.  While  living  in  Nova 
Scotia,  he  attempted  to  found  there  a  settlement  to  be  called  "New 
Jerusalem."  It  is  presumed  that  his  lands  in  that  Province  were  confis- 
cated when  he  came  away  and  joined  the  American  "rebels";  but  in 
1796  he  undertook  to  convey  by  deed  100,000  acres  in  Nova  Scotia  to 
the  Synod  of  Virginia,  in  trust  for  the  benefit  of  Liberty  Hall  Academy, 
in  Rockbridge,  among  other  purposes  "for  the  support  of  public  lec- 
tures in  said  seminary  aimually,  on  man's  state  by  nature  and  his  recov- 
ery by  free  and  unmerited  grace  through  Christ  Jesus,  and  against  oppo- 
site errors."  Possibly  finding  that  this  deed  would  not  do,  he  executed 
another  the  next  year  directly  to  the  trustees  of  Liberty  Hall,  for  the 
same  uses.  The  .second  deed  was  witnessed  by  Andrew  Alexander, 
Conrad  Speece  and  Archibald  Alexander.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that 
Liberty  Hall  did  not  gft  the  land. 

McNutt  never  married,  and  left  no  posterity  His  old-fashioned  dress 
sword  was  preserved  by  his  collateral  descendant,  Alexander  McNutt 
Glasgow,  of  Rockbridge  ;  but  at  the  time  of  "  Hunter's  Raid,"  in  1864, 


442  SUPPLEMENT   TO    THE 

the  silver-mounted  scabbard  was  carried  off,  leaving  only  the  naked 
blade. 

John  McNutt,  a  brother  of  Alexander,  settled  on  North  river,  Rock- 
bridge. His  wife  was  Catherine  Anderson,  a  great-aunt  of  Judge 
Francis  T.  Anderson.  One  of  his  sons,  Alexander,  was  the  father  of 
Governor  Alexander  G.  McNutt,  of  Mississippi,  and  grandfather  of 
General  Frank  Paxton  and  General  Albert  G.  Jenkins. 

A  daughter  of  John  McNutt  married,  first,  Lieutenant  McCorkle,  who 
was  mortally  wounded  at  the  battle  of  the  Cowpens,  the  grandfather  of 
the  Rev.  Alexander  B.  McCorkle,  and  great-grandfather  of  Thomas 
McCorkle,  Esq.  Her  second  husband  was  Arthur  Glasgow,  grand- 
father of  William  A.  Glasgow,  Esq..  and  Colonel  J.  K.  Edmondson.  To 
the  former  we  are  indebted  for  most  of  the  facts  here  given. 


THE  CUNNINGHAMS. 


Robert  Cunningham,  a  native  of  north  Ireland,  settled  on  a  farm 
called  Rock  Spring,  in  Augusta  count|,  about  the  year  1735.  He  was 
one  of  the  first  set  of  justices  of  the  peace  appointed  in  1745,  and  after- 
ward, it  is  said,  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses.  His  wife  was  a 
widow  Hamilton,  and  the  mother  of  several  children  at  the  time  of  her 
second  marriage.  One  of  her  daughters,  Mary  Hamilton,  married 
David  Campbell,  and  was  the  mother  of  John  and  Arthur  Campbell,  and 
others.  (See  "The  Campbells.")  Two  of  the  daughters  of  Robert 
Cunningham  also  married  Campbells.  He  had  no  son.  His  daughter, 
Martha,  about  the  year  1750,  married  Walter  Davis,  who  became  the 
owner  of  Rock  Spring  farm.  Mr.  Davis  never  held  civil  office,  but  was 
an  elder  of  Tinkling  Spring  church  and  a  man  of  much  influence.  His 
daughter,  Margaret,  married  John  Smith,  and  was  the  mother  of  Judge 
Daniel  Smith,  of  Rockingham.  His  son,  William  Davis,  born  in  1765, 
married  Annie  Caldwell,  and  died  about  1851,  aged  eighty-six.  He  was 
a  man  of  high  standing  in  the  community,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  high 
sheriff,  etc.  Walter  Davis,  Jr.,  son  of  William,  born  in  1791,  was  for 
many  years  one  of  the  two  commissioners  of  the  revenue  m  Augusta 
county,  and  noted  for  his  faithful  and  intelligent  discharge  of  the  duties 
of  his  office.  His  wife  was  Rebecca  Van  Lear.  William  C.  Davis,  a 
brother  of  Walter  Davis,  Jr.,  removed  to  Missouri  in  1836  or  1837.  Dr. 
Thomas  Parks,  of  Missouri,  is  the  only  surviving  grandchild  of  Walter 
Davis,  Sr. 

John  Cunningham,  believed  to  have  been  a  brother  of  Robert,  lived 
in  Staunton,  his  residence  being  on  Lot  No.  i,  southwest  corner  of  Au- 
gusta street  and  Spring  Lane.  He  had  three  daughters  and  one  son. 
His  oldest  daughter  was  Mrs.  Margaret  Reed,  mentioned  on  page  153. 
who  was  baptized  by  Mr.  Craig  in  1747,  and  died  in   1827.     Another 


ANNALS  OF  AUGUSTA  COUNTY.  443 

daughter,  Isabella,  married  Major  Robert  Burns,  and  was  the  mother  of 
Mrs.  Waterman  and  Mrs.  Gambill,  of  Rockingham.  The  third  daughter 
of  John  Cunningham,  Elizabeth,  married  Captain  Thomas  Smith. 
According  to  family  tradition,  Captain  Smith  commanded  the  only 
troop  of  cavalry  that  went  into  the  Continental  service  from  Augusta 
during  the  Revolutionary  war.  His  daughters  were  Mrs.  Michael  Gar- 
ber,  Mrs.  Moses  McCue,  and  Mrs.  John  Jones.  Captain  Walter  Cun- 
ningham, only  son  of  John,  removed  to  Kentucky  in  1788,  and  thus  the 
name  disappeared  from  the  county. 

We  are  indebted  to  Major  James-  B.  Dorman,  a  grandson  of  Mrs. 
Moses  McCue,  for  most  of  the  above  facts. 


THE  POAGES. 


Robert  Poage,  with  many  other  settlers  in  the  Valley,  appeared  at 
Orange  court.  May  22,  1740,  to  "prove  his  importation,"  with  the  view 
of  taking  up  public  lands.  The  record  sets  forth  that  he,  his  wife, 
Elizabeth,  and  nine  children,  named,  came  from  Ireland  to  Phila- 
delphia, "and  from  thence  to  this  colony,"  at  his  own  expense.  He 
may  have  come  some  years  earlier  than  the  date  mentioned,  but  we 
find  no  trace  of  him  before  that  time.  Alexander  Breckenridge  proved 
his  importation  on  the  same  day,  and  very  likely  the  two  families  came 
over  in  the  same  ship. 

Mr.  Poage  settled  on  a  plantation  three  miles  north  of  Staunton, 
which  he  must  have  purchased  from  William  Beverley,  as  the  land  was 
in  Beverley's  Manor.  The  tract  .contained  originally  seven  hundred 
and  seventy-two  acres.  It  was  there,  no  doubt,  that  the  young 
preacher,  McAden,  obtained  his  first  dinner  in  Virginia  on  Saturday, 
June  21,  1755.     (See  page  66.) 

But  he  acquired  other  lands  directly  from  the  government.  There  is 
before  us  a  patent  on  parchment,  executed  by  Governor  Gooch,July 
30,  1742,  granting  to  Robert  Poage  three  hundred  and  six  acres  of 
land  "in  the  county  of  Orange,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Blue  Ridge,"  to 
be  held  "  in  free  and  common  soccage,  and  not  in  capite  or  by  knight's 
service,"  in  consideration  of  thirty-five  shillings;  provided  the  grantee 
should  pay  a  fee  rent  of  one  shilling  for  every  fifty  acres,  annually,  ''  on 
the  feast  of  St.  Michael  the  Archangel,"  etc.  The  seal  attached  to  the 
patent  has  on  it  an  impression  of  the  royal  crown  of  Great  Britain. 

The  will  of  Robert  Poage,  dated  October  20,  1773,  was  proved  in 
court  March  6,  1774.  The  executors  were  William  Lewis  and  testator's 
son,  John.  The  testator  mentions  his  sons  John,  Thomas,  Robert, 
George  and  William,  and  his  daughters  Martha  Woods,  Elizabeth 
Crawford  and   Margaret   Robertson.     To  the   last   six   he   gave   only 


444  SUPPLEMENT   TO   THE 

"one  pistole"  each,  having  provided  for  them  otherwise.  The  son 
Thomas  is  not  named  in  the  Orange  county  court  record,  and  the 
presumption  is  that  he  was  born  after  the  family  came  to  America. 
The  record  referred  to  mentions,  however,  two  daughters,  Mary  and 
Sarah,  who  are  not  named  in  the  will.  Both  had  probably  died  before 
the  date  of  the  will.  One  of  these,  it  is  supposed,  was  the  first  wife  of 
Major  Robert  Breckenridge  (son  of  Alexander),  who  died  while  quite 
young,  leaving  two  sons,  Robert  and  Alexander  Breckenridge,  who 
became  prominent  citizens  of  Kentucky.  (See  page  140,  and  also 
"  Mrs.  Floyd's  Narrative.") 

The  only  children  of  Robert  and  Elizabeth  Poage,  of  whom  we  have 
any  particular  account,  are  their  sons  John  and  Thomas. 

I.  John  Poage  qualified  as  assistant  to  Thomas  Lewis,  Surveyor  of 
Augusta  county,  May  20, 1760.  In  1763,  he  was  a  vestryman  of  Augusta 
Parish  (see  page  no).  On  March  17,  1778,  he  became  high  sheriff,  and 
on  the  next  day  qualified  as  county  surveyor.  His  will,  dated  Feb- 
ruary 16,  1789,  and  proved  in  court  April  22,  1789,  mentions  his  wife, 
Mary,  and  his  children,  Robert,  George,  James,  John,  Thomas,  Eliza- 
beth and  Ann.     Of  most  of  these  nothing  is  known. 

1.  Robert  Poage,  son  of  John,  qualified  as  assistant  county  surveyor, 
June  16,  1778.     Nothing  else  is  known  of  him. 

2.  James  Poage.  A  person  of  Jhis  name  married  a  daughter  of  Mrs. 
Martha  Woods  (daughter  of  Robert  Poage,  Sr.),  and  removed  to 
Kentucky.  If  this  was  James  the  son  of  John,  he  and  his  wife  were 
first  cousins.  In  1796,  a  James  Poage  was  a  member  of  the  Kentucky 
Legislature,  from  Clarke  county. 

3.  John  Poage,  son  of  John,  succeeded  his  father  as  county  surveyor. 
He  lived  on  a  farm  near  Mowry's  Mill,  about  five  miles  north  of  Staun- 
ton, and  died  in  1827,  leaving  several  children,  most  of  whom  went 
west.     His  son  James,  who  remained  in  Augusta,  died  in  1876. 

4.  Thomas  Poage,  son  of  John,  Sr.,  was  a  promising  young  minis 
ter,  who  died  in  1793.  He  had  recently  married  a  Miss  Jane  Waikins, 
to  whom,  and  his  brother  John,  he  left  his  estate.  The  witnesses  to  the 
will  were  the  Rev.  William  Wilson  and  the  Rev.  John  Poage  Campbell. 
The  latter  and  John  Poage  were  appointed  executors.  Mr.  Campbell's 
name  was  originally  simply  John  Campbell,  but  he  added  the  name 
Poage  on  account  of  his  devotion  to  his  friend,  Thomas  Poage  (see 
page  192). 

5.  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  Poage,  Sr.,  was  the  wife  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Moses  Hoge,  long  president  of  Hampden  Sidney  College. 
She  was  married  August  23,  1783,  and  died  June,  1802.  Her  three  sons 
were  eminent  ministers,  viz :  Rev.  Dr.  James  Hoge,  of  Columbus,  Ohio ; 
Rev.  John  Blair  Hoge,  a  man  of  brilliant  genius,  who  died  young,  at 
Martinsburg ;  and  Rev.  Samuel  Davies  Hoge,  who  also  died  young,  the 
father  of  the  Rev.  Moses  D.  Hoge,  D.  D.,  of  Richmond. 

Of  George  and  Ann  Poage,  the  remaining  children  of  John  Poage, 
Sr.,  nothing  is  known. 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA   COUNTY.  445 

II.  Thomas  Poage,  son  of  Robert,  Sr.,  inherited  and  lived  on  his 
father's  homestead.  His  wife  was  Polly  McClanahan.  His  will,  proved 
in  court,  January  24,  1803,  mentions  his  children,  viz:  Elijah,  Robert, 
John,  William,  Elizabeth,  Ann,  Polly  and  Agnes. 

1.  Elijah  Poage  married  Nancy  Grattan,  daughter  of  John  Grattan 
(see  pages  177-8),  July  3,  1787,  and  went  to  Kentucky. 

2.  Robert  Poage,  son  of  Thomas,  Sr.,  married  Martha  Crawford, 
September  15,  1791.  and  went  to  Kentucky. 

3  John  Poage,  son  of  Thomas,  Sr.,  married,  November  27,  1792, 
Mrs.  Rachel  Crawford,  widow  of  John  Crawford,  of  Augusta,  and  daugh- 
ter of  Hugh  Barclay,  of  Rockbridge.  He  lived  in  Rockbridge,  on  a  farm 
given  to  him  by  his  father,  and  was  the  grandfather  of  Colonel  William 
T.  Poage  of  Lexington. 

4.  William  Poage,  youngest  son  of  Thomas,  Sr.,  was  the  Major 
Poage  who  lived  many  years  on  the  ancestral  farm,  three  miles  from 
Staunton.  His  first  wife  was  Betsy,  daughter  of  Colonel  Andrew  An- 
derson. She  died  without  issue,  and  he  married  again,  Peggy  Allen  (see 
"  The  Aliens  "),  by  whom  there  was  a  large  family.  His  son  Thomas, 
a  rising  lawyer  in  southwest  Virginia,  was  Colonel  of  the  Fiftieth  Virginia 
regiment  when  he  was  killed,  on  Blackwater,  in  February,  1863.  One 
of  Major  Poage's  daughters  is  the  wife  of  General  James  A.  Walker, 
late  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Virginia. »  To  A.  W.  Poage,  of  Wythe,  a 
son  of  Major  Poage,  we  are  indebted  for  much  of  this  family  history. 

5.  Ann  Poage,  daughter  of  Thomas.  Sr.,  married  Major  Archibald 
Woods,  of  Botetourt,  March  5,  17S9,  who  was  a  son  of  Mrs.  Martha 
Woods,  daughter  of  Robert  Poage,  Sr.  Major  Woods  removed  to  Ohio 
county,  and  died  in  1846.  His  son,  Thomas,  who  was  cashier  of  the 
North  Western  Bank  of  Virginia,  at  Wheeling,  was  the  father  of  the 
Rev.  Edgar  Woods,  of  Pantops  Academy,  Albemarle. 

6.  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Thomas  Poage,  Sr.,  was  the  wife  of  the  Rev. 
William  Wilson,  of  Augusta  church.     (See  page  135.) 

7.  Polly,  daughter  of  Thomas  Poage,  Sr.,  was  the  wife  of  Thomas 
Wilson,  a  brother  of  the  Rev.  William  Wilson.  Thomas  Wilson  lived 
at  Morgantown,  Northwest  Virginia,  and  was  a  lawyer,  member  of  Con- 
gress, etc.  His  son,  the  Rev.  Norval  Wilson,  was  long  a  prominent 
minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  one  of  his  daughters, 
Mrs.  Louisa  Lowrie,  was  a  missionary  in  India.  Among  the  grandsons 
of  Thomas  Wilson  are  Bishop  Alpheus  Wilson  and  E.  W.  Wilson,  the 
present  Governor  of  West  Virginia. 

8.  Agnes  Poage,  daughter  of  Thomas,  Sr.,  died  unmarried. 
Another  family  of  Poages  came  from  Ireland  and  settled  in  Rockbridge 

county.  The  name  of  the  ancestor  is  not  known.  He  was,  probably, 
a  brother  of  Robert  Poage,  Sr.,  who  settled  in  Augusta  about  1740. 
His  wife  was  Jane  Somers.  They  had  ten  children.  One  of  the  sons, 
Jonathan,  was  the  grandfather  of  Dr.  Poage,  late  of  Rockbridge,  of  Mrs. 
Lane,  a  missionary  in  Brazil,  and  others.  A  daughter,  Ann,  was  the 
wife  of  Isaac  Caruthers,  and  has  many  descendants  widely  scattered. 
5 


446  SUPPLEMENT   TO    THE 

Another  daughter,  Martha,  married  James  Moore.  The  fifth  child  of 
James  and  Martha  Moore  was  called  Mary,  after  her  father's  oldest  sister, 
who  was  the  wife  of  Major  Alexander  Stuart,  father  of  Judge  Archibald 
Stuart.  Mary  Moore  became  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Brown,  of 
New  Providence.  When  a  child,  nine  years  of  age,  living  with  her 
parents  in  Abb's  Valley,  now  Tazewell  county,  she  and  others  were 
carried  off  by  Indians,  July  14,  1786,  and  detained  in  captivity  three 
years. 


REVOLUTIONARY  WAR  MEASURES. 


For  the  only  account  of  any  proceedings  under  the  ordinances  passed 
by  the  State  Convention  in  July,  1775,  providing  for  the  organization  of 
"minute  men,"  we  are  indebted  to  the  ".Gilmer  Papers,"  issued  in 
1887  by  the  Virginia  Historical  Society.  Commissioners  from  the  coun- 
ties of  Buckingham,  Amherst,  Albemarle  and  Augusta,  composing  a 
district  (see  page  157),  met  on  the  8th  of  September,  1775,  at  the  house 
of  James  Woods,  in  Amherst,  now  Nelson.  The  commissioners  from 
Augusta  were  Sampson  Mathew^,  Alexander  McClanahan  and  Samuel 
McDowell.  It  was  resolved  that  Augusta  furnish  four  companies  of 
fifty  men  each,  and  that  each  of  the  other  counties  furnish  two  compa- 
nies, making  the  total  often  companies  and  five  hundred  men  required 
by  the  ordinance.  George  Mathews,  of  Augusta,  was  chosen  colonel ; 
Charles  Lewis,  of  Albemarle,  lieutenant-colonel ;  David  Gaines,  major; 
and  Thomas  Patterson  (or  Patteson,  doubtless,  of  Buckingham), 
"commissary  of  masters." 

The  officers  appointed  for  the  Augusta  companies  were  as  follows : 

ist.  Benjamin  Harrison,  captain ;  Henry  Evans,  lieutenant ;  and  Cu- 
rord  Custard,  ensign. 

2d.  Daniel  Stephenson,  captain;  John  McMahon,  lieutenant;  and 
Samuel  Henderson,  ensign. 

3d.  Alexander  Long,  captain ;  James  Sayres,  lieutenant ;  and  John 
Buchanan,  ensign. 

4th.  William  Lyle,  Jr.,  lieutenant;  and  William  Moore,  ensign.  The 
captain  of  this  company  was  not  named. 

The  first  company  was  evidently  intended  to  be  raised  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  county,  now  Rockingham,  and  the  fourth  in  the  south- 
ern part,  now  Rockbridge. 

The  regiment  was  required  to  meet  on  the  east  side  of  the  Blue 
Ridge,  at  a  point  to  be  designated  by  the  colonel,  within  three  miles  of 
Rockfish  Gap. 

As  far  as  we  have  learned,  no  other  proceedings  were  taken  in 
pursuance  of  the  ordinance,  and  probably  the  regiment  never  mus- 
tered.    In   December   following,  an  ordinance  was  passed  for  raising 


ANNALS   OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  447 

seven  regiments  of  regulars,  in  addition  to  the  First  and  Second,  and 
George  Mathews  was  then  appointed  by  the  Convention  lieutenant - 
colonel  of  the  Ninth.  (See  pages  157,  158  and  160.)  The  latter  ordi- 
nance superseded  the  former,  which  proposed  merely  a  militia  organi- 
zation. 

The  ordinance  of  July,  1775,  also  called  for  two  regiments  of  regulars, 
the  First  and  Second,  as  mentioned  on  page  156,  and  the  district  com- 
missioners, at  their  meeting  in  September,  designated  the  officers  for 
two  companies.  Among  them  was  Thomas  Hughes,  but  whether  cap- 
tain or  lieutenant  it  is  impossible  to  tell  from  Dr.  Gilmer's  memoran- 
dum. He  was,  however,  no  doubt,  the  Captain  Hughes  mentioned  on 
page  159.     William  Robertson,  of  Augusta,  was  chosen  a  lieutenant. 

Lieutenant  Robertson  entered  the  service  in  1775,  and  was  at  the 
battles  of  Great  Bridge,  Brandywine  and  Germantown.  Being  a  mem- 
ber of  Colonel  Mathews's  regiment  at  Germantown,  he  was  taken 
prisoner  there,  and  detained  three  years.  After  his  discharge,  he 
rejoined  the  army  and  served  till  the  close  of  the  war.  He  died 
November  12,  1831. 

[The  only  child  of  William  Robertson  was  the  wife  of  Charles  A. 
Stuart,  of  Greenbrier,  who,  with  his  sons,  William  Robertson  and  John 
Stuart,  succeeded  to  the  old  gentleman's  property.  He  owned  at  one 
time  the  mill  which  stood  where  the  mill  of  Witz  &  Holt  is  now,  but 
sold  it  before  his  death  to  Jacob  Smith.] 

The  following  is  said  to  have  been  written  as  an  inscription  for  a  flag 
of  one  of  the  Augusta  companies  during  the  Revolution.  Whether  it 
was  so  used,  we  do  not  know  : 

"  We  raise  this  banner  to  defend  the  cause 
Of  injured  freedom  and  our  country's  laws; 
This  banner,  Britain,  means  no  ill  to  thee : 
We  love  as  children,  but  we  will  be  free." 


An  Incident  of  the  Revolution,  which  occurred  in  Augusta,  is 
related  ir»  the  memoir  of  Mrs.  Jane  Allen  Trimble.  The  women  and 
children  of  that  era  were  left  in  charge  of  the  homesteads,  and  many 
females  displayed  as  much  patriotism  and  courage  as  the  male  mem- 
bers of  their  families.  Rigid  economy  and  untiring  industry  were 
practised  in  every  household,  and  mnny  families,  whose  sons  and 
brothers  were  in  the  field  as  soldiers,  were  dependent  upon  their 
neighbors  for  the  means  of  living. 

A  German  family  dwelling  near  the  Stone  church,  seemed  to  be  out 
of  the  pale  of  sympathy  that  pervaded  society.  They  contributed 
neither  men  nor  means  to  aid  the  cause,  and  were  regarded  as  Tories, 
but  afraid  to  avow  their  principles. 


448  SUPPLEMENT   TO   THE 

An  officer  of  the  Virginia  line  visited  his  family  in  Augusta  in  1777, 
and  was  at  a  social  party  composed  principally  of  females,  when  the 
conduct  of  the  family  alluded  to  was  commented  upon.  A  majority  of 
the  party  urged  that  the  Tories  should  be  driven  out  of  the  neighbor- 
hood. Jane  Allen  and  one  of  the  Misses  Grattan  opposed  the  proposi- 
tion, saying  that  the  people,  if  driven  away,  would  probably  go  to  North 
Carolina  and  swell  the  number  of  active  enemies.  It  was  therefore 
agreed  that  the  case  should  be  put  into  the  hands  of  the  young  women 
named,  to  be  managed  by  them.  The  two  heroines  made  their  plan 
and  proceeded  to  execute  it  at  once.  Disguised  as  Continental  officers, 
it  is  said,  they  repaired  to  the  house  of  the  German,  two  miles  oif,  late 
\n  the  evening.  The  dogs  announced  their  approach,  and  the  men, 
seeing  officers  coming,  hid  themselves,  the  female  head  of  the  family 
presenting  herself  at  the  door  of  her  dwelling.  "  Madam,"  said  one  of 
the  recruiting  officers,  "  more  soldiers  are  needed.  You  have  four  sons 
and  can  spare  two.  Your  family  has  been  protected  by  your  neighbors, 
while  you  have  contributed  nothing  to  relieve  the  women  and  children 
around  you.  You  must  either  furnish  men  for  the  army,  or  supplies  for 
the  neighborhood." 

The  old  woman  exclaimed,  "  Mine  Fader,  vot  vill  ve  do  !  "  A  voice 
from  the  loft  cried  out :  "  O  give  de  money  or  provisions,  and  let  de  men 
stay  at  home."  The  husband  was  thereupon  ordered  down,  and  the 
contract  then  ratified  was  observed  during  the  war. 

The  young  women  returned  and  made  their  report.  Profound  secrecy 
was  enjoined  and  preserved,  as  to  the  persons  engaged  in  the  enterprise. 
The  evening's  entertainment  was  closed  with  a  hymn,  and  a  prayer  for 
the  Divine  blessing,  led  by  the  good-man  of  the  house. 


Andrew  Wallace — Upon  the  authority  of  an  old  army  list,  it  is 
stated  on  page  179  that  Captain  Wallace  was  killed  at  the  battle  of 
King's  Mountain.  Foote  states,  however,  and  no  doubt  correctly,  that 
he  was  killed  at  Guilford.  (See  Sketches  of  Virginia,  second  series, 
page  147).  He  says:  "  Captain  Andrew  Wallace,  from  near  Lexington, 
was  in  the  regular  service,  and  had  always  shown  himself  a  brave  man. 
That  morning  he  expressed  a  mournful  presage  that  he  would  fall  that 
day.  In  the  course  of  the  action,  he  sheltered  himself  behind  a  tree, 
with  some  indications  of  alarm.  Being  reproached,  he  immediately  left 
the  shelter,  and  in  a  moment  received  his  death  wound." 

Foote  says,  also:  "A  brother  of  his.  Captain  Adam  Wallace,  was 
with  Buford  at  the  terrible  massacre  on  the  Waxhaw.  After  killing 
many  of  the  enemy  with  his  espontoon  "  [a  kind  of  pike],  "he  died, 
bravelv  fighting." 

Another  brother.  Captain  Hugh  Wallace,  in  the  regular  army,  died 
in  Philadelphia,  of  small-pox. 


ANNALS  OF  AUGUSTA  COUNTY.  449 

Thomas  Adams,  a  native  of  the  county  of  Essex,  England,  was  in 
early  life  clerk  of  Henrico  county  court,  Virginia,  and  later  a  mer- 
chant in  London.  Returning  to  Virginia,  he  settled  in  New  Kent 
county.  In  1766,  he  purchased  from  John  Carlyle  two  hundred  acres  of 
land  on  the  Great  Calfpasture  river,  in  Augusta.  In  1771,  he  purchased 
from  Carlyle  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  in  the  same  valley;  and  in 
1772,  he  acquired  from  William  Wills  one  hundred  and  ten  acres  on  a 
"  branch  of  the  Great  River  of  the  Calf  Pasture."  He  also  acquired 
lands  from  the  government  by  patent.  All  the  deeds  describe  him  as 
"Thomas  Adams,  of  Xew  Kent."  It  is  well  known  that  most  of  the 
African  slaves  imported  into  Virginia  in  former  times  were  brought 
over  by  New  England  "skippers";  and  from  a  bill  of  sale  which  has 
been  preserved,  it  appears  that  on  the  12th  of  May,  1773,  '"  considera- 
tion of  ^42,  los,  Thomas  Adams  purchased  a  negro  girl  from  "Joseph 
Hanwood,  of  Newbury,  in  the  Province  of  New  Hampshire,  Marriner." 
(Virginia  Historical  Collections,  Vol.  VI,  page  23.) 

In  i778-'8o,  Mr.  Adams  was  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress, 
from  lower  Virginia.  During  the  year  1780  he  removed  to  Augusta, 
and  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  here.  A  deed  dated  November  17, 
1780,  by  which  he  conveyed  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  acres  of  land, 
acquired  by  patent  in  1769,  to  Moore  Fauntleroy,  describes  him  as  a 
citizen  of  Augusta.  In  1786,  he  represented  the  county  in  the  State 
Senate.  He  is  described  as  an  ardent  patriot,  and  from  his  writings, 
etc.,  he  was  evidently  a  man  of  great  intelligence  and  benevolence. 

He  died  at  his  home  in  the  Pastures  in  the  year  1788,  leaving  a 
widow,  but  no  children.  His  will  is  dated  October  14,  1785,  and  begins 
as  follows:  "  Being  about  to  take  a  perilous  journey  to  the  Ohio  river." 
It  was  presented  in  the  county  court  of  Augusta  and  proved  October 
22,  1788.  The  testator  provided  amply  for  his  wife,  and  constituted  his 
brother,  Richard,  and  his  nephews,  William  Adams  Fry,  William 
Smith  and  William  Adams,  his  residuary  legatees  and  devisees.  He 
was  particularly  solicitous  for  the  welfare  of  his  slaves,  and  enjoined  it 
upon  his  legatees  to  treat  them  kindly,  and  "  not  to  sell  or  barter  them 
away  as  cattle."  In  regard  to  one  of  the  negroes,  he  says  :  "  As  there 
is  no  man  to  whom  I  consider  myself  under  greater  obligations  than  to 
my  slave  Joe,  I  hereby  declare  Joe  a  freeman,  and  give  him  full  and 
complete  emancipation." 


Errata. — The  fort  alluded  to  on  page  98,  as  probably    'Fass's,"  or 
"  Vau:v's,"  was  more  likely  /^ori  Dinwiddie. 

For  ''  chapel  of  care,"  on  page  loi,  read  "  chapel  of  ease^ 

Governor  James  Preston  was  brother-in-law  of  the  first  Governor 
Floyd,  not  ''father-in-law  "  as  stated  on  page  117. 
-     For  ''Clement  R.  Mason,'''  on  page  334,  read  "Claiborne  R." 

For  "  decreed,"  on  page  161,  read  "  deemed." 


450  SUPPLEMENT   TO   THE 


CAPTAIN  WILLIAM  MOORE. 


E>avid  Moore,  with  his  mother  and  ten  brothers  and  a  sister,  came 
from  the  north  of  Ireland  to  America,  and  settled  in  Borden's  Grant. 
The  maiden  name  of  his  mother  was  Baxter.  When  a  young  girl,  she 
was  in  Londonderry,  during  the  famous  siege  of  1689.  David  Moore's 
wife  was  Mary  Evans,  and  his  sons  were  William  and  Andrew.  (See 
page  143.) 

William  Moore  was  born  about  the  year  1748,  at  Cannicello,  now  in 
Rockbridge  county,  and  received  a  plain  education  at  schools  in  the 
neighborhood.  From  his  boyhood  he  was  remarkable  for  his  temperate 
habits,  intrepidity,  and  great  physical  strength.  At  times,  when  the 
country  was  in  a  state  of  alarm  on  account  of  the  Indians,  he  would 
take  solitary  excursions  and  remain  out  all  night  by  himself.  In  1774, 
he  participated  in  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant.  During  the  action,  John 
Steele  was  wounded  and  about  to  be  scalped,  when  Moore  interposed, 
shooting  one  Indian  and  knocking  down  another  with  his  rifle.  He 
then  shouldered  Steele,  who  was  a  very  large  and  heavy  man,  and  after 
laying  him  down  in  a  safe  place  nearly  two  miles  ofT,  returned  to  the 
fight.  Steele  was  accustomed  to  say,  "There  was  no  other  man  in  the 
army  who  could  have  done  it,  if  he  would  ;  and  no  other  who  would 
have  done  it,  if  he  could."  Moore  is  believed  to  have  been  in  the  mili- 
tary service  during  the  whole  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  at  the  surren- 
der of  Cornwallis,  he  held  the  rank  of  captain. 

After  the  war.  Captain  Moore  settled  in  Lexington  as  a  merchant.  It 
is  said  that  he  brought  to  that  town  the  first  sack  of  coffee  ever  seen 
there.  Like  most  enterprising  men,  however,  he  was  "  in  advance  of 
his  age."  His  customers  were  not  acquainted  with  coffee,  and  it  re- 
mained unsold  till  some  Pennsylvanians  arrived  and  purchased  it.  The 
people  of  Lexington  and  vicinity  were  quicker  to  learn  the  use  of  tea. 
As  explained  by  an  old  lady  living  there,  her  husband  "drank  the 
broth,"  and  she  "ate  the  greens." 

After  merchandising  in  Lexington,  Captain  Moore  had  an  iron  fur- 
nace on  South  River,  Rockbridge,  and  then  lived  near  Fairfield.  For 
many  years  he  was  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  was  high  sheriff  for  two 
terms.     He  died  in  Lexington  in  1841,  aged  ninety-three. 

The  wife  of  Captain  Moore  was  Nancy  McClung,  and  his  children, 
were  Samuel,  David,  John,  Eliab,  Jane,  Isabella,  Elizabeth  and  Nancy. 


Colonel  John  Allen  was  born  in  what  is  now  Rockbridge  county, 
December  30,  1772.  His  father,  James  Allen,  emigrated  to  Kentucky 
in  1780,  and  settled  near  the  present  town  of  Danville,  but  afterwards 


ANNALS   OF   AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  451 

removed  to  the  vicinity  of  Bardstown.  In  this  town  young  Allen  went 
to  school  and  acquired  some  classical  learning.  Coming  to  Virginia, 
he  assisted  in  surveying  a  tract  of  land  in  Rockbridge,  and  was  e.x- 
amined  as  a  witness  in  court  in  a  suit  about  the  land.  Judge  Archibald 
Stuart,  of  Staunton,  then  a  practicing  lawyer,  was  employed  in  the 
case,  and  being  pleased  with  the  young  man's  intelligence,  sought  his 
acquaintance.  The  result  was  that  Allen  came  to  Staunton  in  1791, 
and  spent  four  years  in  Judge  Stuart's  office.  He  returned  to  Ken- 
tucky in  1795,  and  immediately  entered  upon  a  brilliant  career.  As  a 
lawyer,  he  ranked  with  the  first  men  of  his  profession.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war  of  1812  he  raised  a  regiment  of  riflemen,  and  was  killed 
at  the  battle  of  the  River  Raisen,  January  22,  1S13.  Allen  county,  Ken- 
tucky, was  called  for  him.     (See  Collins's  History  of  Kentucky.) 


EMIGRATION  TO  KENTUCKY— PERILS  BY  THE  WAY. 


As  stated  on  page  207,  from  the  time  of  the  first  settlement  of  Ken- 
tucky till  near  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  most  frequented 
route  of  travel  from  the  Eastern  and  Northern  States  to  Kentucky  was 
called  the  "Wilderness  Road."  John  Filson,  a  native  of  Delaware  and 
one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Kentucky,  returned  to  his  former  home, 
in  1786,  and  kept  a  journal  of  the  stopping  places,  and  the  distances 
between  them.  Starting  from  the  "  Falls  of  the  Ohio  "  (Louisville),  he 
mentions  thirty-six  places  between  that  point  and  Staunton.  Among 
the  places  named  are  Bardstown,  Harrod's  Station,  Logan's  Station, 
Cumberland  Mountain,  Powell's  Mountain,  Black  Horse,  Washington 
Courthouse,  Head  of  Holston,  Fort  Chiswell,  New  River,  Alleghany 
Mountain,  Botetourt  Courthouse,  North  Branch  of  James  River,  and 
Staunton.  The  distance  from  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  to  Staunton  by  this 
route,  as  noted  by  Filson.  was  five  hundred  and  nine  miles.  {Life  of 
Filson,  by  Colonel  R.  T.  Durritt.)  The  trip  on  horseback  must  have 
required  considerably  more  than  a  month. 

In  the  year  1783  or  1784  a  large  party  of  Augusta  people — ^Allens, 
Moffetts,  Trimbles  and  others — removed  to  Kentucky,  going  by  the 
route  just  mentioned.  Among  the  emigrants  was  Mrs.  Jane  Allen 
Trimble,  wife  of  Captain  James  Trimble,  a  woman  of  rare  excellence, 
in  whose  memoir  we  find  a  graphic  account  of  the  trip. 

Soon  after  the  Revolutionary  war.  Captain  Trimble  and  others,  who 
had  been  soldiers,  went  to  Kentucky  to  locate  the  land-warrants  issued 
to  them  for  military  services.  They  were  delighted  with  the  country, 
and  on  their  return  to  Augusta  a  spirit  of  immigration  was  awakened 
throughout  the  county.  The  memoir  states  that  it  was  in  1784,  but  other 
accounts  say  1783.    In  September  of  one  of  those  years,  a  company  was 


452  SUPPLEMENT    TO   THE 

formed,  consisting  of  eight  or  ten  families,  who  made  known  that  they 
would  meet  in  Staunton  on  the  ist  of  October,  in  order  to  emigrate  to 
Kentucky,  and  they  invited  others  to  join  them,  either  in  Staunton  or 
on  the  route  to  Abingdon.  On  the  Sabbath  previous  to  their  departure 
they  attended  their  several  churches,  and  heard  their  last  sermons  in 
Virginia,  as  they  supposed.  Mrs.  Trimble,  says  the  memoir,  often 
referred  to  that  day's  religious  experience  as  being  unusually  interest- 
ing and  impressive.  The  services  she  attended  were  conducted  by  the 
Rev.  James  Waddell,  and  "the  minister  spoke  of  the  separation  of 
parents  and  children,  brothers  and  sisters,  friends  and  neighbors,  who 
had  been  united  in  sweetest  bonds  of  fellowship,  in  such  a  pathetic 
strain  as  to  make  all  eyes  fill  with  tears." 

"The  families  met,  according  to  agreement,  in  Staunton,  October  ist. 
All  rode  upon  horses,  and  upon  other  horses  were  placed  the  farming 
and  cooking  utensils,  beds  and  bedding,  wearing  apparel,  provisions, 
and  last,  but  not  least,  the  libraries,  consisting  of  two  Bibles,*  half  a 
dozen  Testaments,  the  Catechism,  the  Confession  of  Faith  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  and  the  Psalms  of  David.  Each  man  and  boy  carried 
his  rifle  and  ammunition,  and  each  woman  her  pistol,  for  their  long 
journey  was  mostly  through  a  wilderness,  and  that  infested  by  savages. 

"James  Trimble's  family  consisted  of  a  wife  and  three  children,  and 
four  colored  servants.  The  eldest  child  was  a  daughter  by  a  former 
marriage.  The  other  two  were  sons,  one  three  years  old  and  the  other 
eleven  months.  These  the  mother  carried,  one  in  her  lap  and  the  other 
behind  her.  Thus  equipped,  the  emigrants  took  up  their  line  of  march, 
after  bidding  farewell  to  their  weeping  friends.  Mrs.  Trimble  had  an 
uncle  and  brother,  with  their  families,  to  accompany  her. 

"By  the  time  the  party  reached  Abingdon,  they  had  increased  to 
three  hundred  persons,  and  when  they  arrived  at  Bean's  Station,  a 
frontier  post,  they  were  joined  by  two  hundred  more  from  Carolina. 
Three-fourths  of  these  were  women  and  children."  General  Knox,  of 
Revolutionary  fame,  afterwards  Washington's  Secretary  of  War,  fell  in 
with  them  at  some  point,  which  is  not  stated,  and  at  Bean's  Station  the 
entire  command  of  their  movements  was  conceded  to  him. 

General  Knox  organized  ihe  unincumbered  horsemen,  of  whom 
there  were  not  more  than  twenty,  in  two  companies,  one  to  go  in  front 
and  the  other  in  the  rear,  with  the  women  and  children  and  pack- 
horses  in  the  middle.  There  was  no  road,  and  the  trail  being  wide 
enough  for  only  one  horse,  the  emigrants  went  in  single  file,  forming  a 
line  of  nearly  a  mile  long.  At  the  eastern  base  of  Clinch  Mountain 
there  was  the  first  indication  of  Indians  prowling  near  them.  Clinch 
river  was  swollen  by  recent  rains,  and  in  crossing  it  Mrs.  Trimble  and 


*  Bibles  were  costly  in  those  days.  During  colonial  times,  the  printing  of  the  English 
version  in  America  was  prohibited,  and  a  heavy  duty  was  laid  on  copies  imported.  The 
only  copies  of  the  Scriptures  printed  here  before  the  Revolution  were  Eliot's  Indian  and 
Luther's  German  Bibles. 


ANNALS   OF   AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  453 

her  children  came  near  losing  their  lives.  A  Mrs.  Ervin  carried  two 
negro  children  in  a  wallet  thrown  across  her  horse,  and  these  were 
washed  off  by  the  current,  but  rescued  by  a  Mr.  Wilson. 

A  party  of  eight  horsemen  overtook  the  emigrants  at  Clinch  river, 
and  preceded  them  on  the  route.  Measles  broke  out,  and  there  was 
scarcely  a  family  in  the  train  that  had  not  a  patient  to  nurse  ;  but,  not- 
withstanding their  exposure  to  rain  during  several  days,  no  death 
occurred. 

Between  Clinch  river  and  Cumberland  Gap,  the  emigrants  came 
upon  the  remains  of  the  eight  horsemen  who  had  passed  on  before 
them.  They  had  been  tomahawked,  scalped  and  stripped  by  Indians, 
and  some  of  the  bodies  had  been  partly  devoured  by  wolves.  General 
Knox  and  his  party  paused  long  enough  to  bury  the  remains  of  the 
unfortunate  men.  During  the  night  which  followed,  there  were  unmis- 
takable signs  of  Indians  near  the  camp.  The  savages  hooted  and 
howled  like  wolves  and  owls  till  after  midnight,  and  made  an  unsuc- 
cessful attempt  to  stampede  the  horses.  The  next  morning  the  In- 
dians were  seen  on  the  hills,  and  their  signal  guns  were  distinctly  heard. 
A  night  or  two  afterwards,  when  the  camp  fires  were  extinguished,  and 
nothing  was  heard  but  the  sound  of  the  falling  rain  and  the  occasional 
tramp  of  a  horse,  a  sentinel  discovered  an  Indian  within  twenty  feet  of 
him,  and  fired  his  gun.  This  alarmed  the  camp,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
the  whole  party  was  under  arms.  No  attack  was  made,  however.  In 
the  morning  Indian  tracks  were  distinct  and  numerous,  and  some  of 
them  were  sprinkled  with  blood,  showing  that  the  sentinel  had  fired 
with  effect. 

An  attack  by  the  Indians  was  confidently  expected  at  the  narrow 
pass  of  Cumberland  Gap,  and  every  precaution  was  taken.  Discon- 
certed in  their  plans,  the  Indians  made  no  assault.  At  every  river  to  be 
crossed  the  utmost  caution  was  observed  to  guard  against  surprise,  and 
the  Indians  finally  abandoned  the  pursuit. 

The  emigrants  arrived  at  Crab  Orchard,  Kentucky,  the  first  of  Novem- 
ber. This  was  the  frontier  post  on  the  northeast  border,  from  which 
emigrants  branched  off  to  their  respective  destinations  Here  General 
Knox  took  leave  of  the  party  in  an  eloquent  address,  which  was  res- 
ponded to  appropriately  by  Captain  Trimble. 

Mrs.  Trimble  removed  to  Ohio  with  her  children  after  her  husband's 
death,  and  afterwards  made  several  trips  on  horseback  to  Virginia. 
One  trip,  made  in  1811,  was  accomplished  in  two  weeks.  The  child  who 
rode  behind  her  on  her  journey  to  Kentucky,  was  Allen,  who  for  four 
years  was  Governor  of  Ohio.    She  survived  till  1849. 


454  SUPPLEMENT   TO    THE 


HANGING  FOR  HORSE-STEALING. 


In  the  latter  part  of  1793,  an  unfortunate  man  suffered  death  by  hang- 
ing, at  Staunton,  under  circumstances  which  have  always  excited  popu- 
lar sympathy.  It  is  not  often  that  an  accused  person  is  condemned 
contrary  to  public  sentiment;  but  it  seems  to  have  been  so  in  this  case, 
and  to  the  present  day  the  execution  is  referred  to  as  an  instance  of 
iudicial  murder. 

John  Bullitt,  the  person  alluded  to,  was  a  young  man  from  Kentucky, 
and  is  said  to  have  been  of  feeble  intellect.  While  in  Augusta  county 
he  was  accused  of  "  feloniously  stealing  and  carrying  away  from  the 
plantation  of  John  Nichols,  Sr.,  of  the  said  county,  on  the  i8th  day  of 
September,  1790,  a  gray  horse  of  the  price  of  thirty  pounds,  and  other 
property,  belonging  to  said  Nichols,  of  the  value  of  five  pounds." 
Total  value  of  the  property,  $116.66%.  Where  the  accused  was  from 
September  18,  1790,  till  August  26,  1793,  is  not  known.  There  is  a  tradi- 
tion that  he  was  returning  with  the  horse  when  he  was  arrested.  On 
the  last  mentioned  day  the  county  court  sat  for  his  examination,  and  he 
was  brought  before  that  tribunal.  The  court  consisted  of  Alexander 
Robertson,  Alexander  St.  Clair,  Robert  Douthat,  William  Moffett  and 
Alexander  Humphreys,  "  Gentlemen  Justices  "  ;  and  on  the  testimony 
of  John  Nichols,  Sr.,  John  Nichols,  Jr.,  Jesse  Atkinson  and  George  Sea, 
the  prisoner  was  sent  on  for  trial  before  the  district  court  "  to  be  holden 
at  Staunton,  on  the  2d  day  of  September  next." 

The  order-book  containing  the  proceedings  in  the  district  court  (No. 
2)  has  disappeared,  and  therefore  we  cannot  say  which  of  the  judges  pre- 
sided at  the  trial  and  what  persons  composed  the  jury.  Neither  can  we 
ascertain  whether  there  was  an  application  for  a  writ  of  error,  nor  on  what 
day  the  execution  was  appointed  to  take  place.  It  is  certain,  however, 
that  Bullitt  was  condemned,  and  that  he  was  hung  on  some  day  subse- 
quent to  October  16,  1793. 

On  that  day  the  county  court  ordered  the  sheriff  to  erect  a  gallows 
"  at  the  fork  of  the  roads  leading  from  Staunton  to  Miller's  iron  works 
and  to  Peter  Hanger's,"  and  that,  the  order  says,  "  shall  be  considered 
as  the  place  of  execution  of  all  condemned  persons  in  future,  which 
may  by  law  be  executed  by  the  sheriff  of  Augusta."  Evidently  the 
court  anticipated  a  brisk  business  in  that  line.  The  fork  of  the  roads 
alluded  to  is  the  point  in  the  northern  part  of  the  town  where  Augusta 
and  New  streets  unite.  The  spot  was  then  in  the  woods,  and  a  log 
house  built  there  afterwards  was  long  occupied  by  the  Gorden  family. 
There  Bullitt  paid  the  penalty  of  his  life  for  a  paltry  offence  which  it  is 
doubtful  if  he  committed.  It  was  currently  said  that  the  younger 
Nichols  loaned  him  the  horse,  and  probably  saddle  and  bridle  ("of  the 


ANNALS   OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  455 

value  of  five  pounds  "),  but  through  fear  of  his  father,  a  man  of  violent 
temper,  permitted  the  youth  to  be  hung  as  a  felon. 

It  is  related  that  the  Rev.  John  McCue  was  present  at  the  execution, 
and  betrayed  great  emotion.  The  popular  feeling  was  long  expressed 
by  a  saying  often  repeated  to  puzzle  children  :  "  That  if  a  person  would 
go  to  John  Gorden's  house  and  say,  '  John  Bullitt,  what  were  you  hung 
for?  '  he  would  say  nothing," 

The  gallows  at  the  place  described  gave  to  all  the  northern  part  of 
Staunton  the  name  of  Gallowstown. 

The  late  James  Bell,  a  young  man  of  twenty-one  in  1793,  was  deputy 
sheriff  that  year,  and  officiated  at  the  execution. 

The  county  court,  on  October  15,  1793,  ordered  their  clerk  (Jacob  Kin- 
ney) to  purchase  a  bell  for  the  courthouse,  which,  we  believe,  is  the  one 
still  in  use. 


Colonel  Andrew  Anderson,  the  Revolutionary  soldier  and  for 
many  consecutive  years  a  delegate  from  the  county  in  the  Legislature, 
was  married  twice  The  children  of  his  first  wife  were  :  (i)  Dr.  George 
Anderson,  of  Montgomery  county ;  (2)  Mrs.  Brown,  of  Kentucky,  and 
(3)  the  first  wife  of  Major  William  Poage,  of  Augusta. 

The  second  wife  of  Colonel  Anderson  was  Martha,  daughter  of  Patrick 
Crawford,  and  her  children  were:  (i)  John;  (2)  James,  (both  of  whom 
died  in  Montgomery  county,  leaving  no  children) ;  (3)  Robert,  who  mar- 
ried Nancy  Dean,  of  Greenbrier,  and  lived  and  died  on  his  farm  on 
Middle  river  and  the  macadamized  turnpike,  (see  page  58) ;  (4)  William, 
who  died  in  New  Orleans;  (5)  Nancy,  wife  of  William  Crawford,  of 
North  Mountain ;  and  (6)  Sally,  wife  of  Jacob  Ruff. 


Edward  McLaughlin,  a  native  of  Londonderry,  Ireland,  settled 
early  in  the  eighteenth  century  near  the  place  now  called  Goshen,  in 
Rockbridge  county.  His  wife  was  a  Miss  Irvin.  (See  page  93.)  He 
was  a  member  of  Captain  Dickinson's  company  at  Point  Pleasant,  and 
during  the  Revolutionary  war  participated  in  the  battles  of  the  Cowpens, 
Guilford,  and  Yorktown.  His  son,  Edward  I.,  was  the  father  of  Judge 
William  McLaughlin. 


Peter  Hanger,  the  first  of  the  name  in  the  county,  lived  near  Staun- 
ton, at  Spring  Farm,  now  the  Staunton  water  works.  His  wife  was 
Hannah  Gabbert,  and  his  children  were  five  sons— viz :  Peter,  George, 
Frederick,  John  (died  a  bachelor)  and  Jacob ;  and  his  daughters.  Bar- 


456  SUPPLEMENT    TO   THE 

bara  Rush,  Hannah    Fultz,   Kitty  Eidson,    and  Elizabeth,   who    died 
unmarried. 

I.  Peter  Hanger,  son  of  Peter  and  Hannah,  lived  on  the  Winchester 
road,  eight  miles  from  Staunton,  at  a  place  formerly  widely  known  as 
"Hanger's,"  and  latterly  as  "  Willow  Spout."  His  wife  was  Catherine 
Link,  whose  mother  was  Mary  Smith.  He  had  four  sons  and  four 
daughters,  who  lived  to  maturity — viz:  i.  David,  who  went  to  Mis- 
souri; 2.  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Joshua  Evans,  Sr. ;  3.  Hannah,  wife  of 
James  Allen;  4.  Dr.  John  Hanger;  5.  Peter  Hanger,  of  South  River; 
6.  Mary,  wife  of  Samuel  M.  Woodward;  7.  William  S.,  still  living; 
8.  Eveline,  wife  of  Jacob  Baylor. 

II.  George  Hanger  lived  on  Middle  River,  at  Shutterle's  mill.  His 
wife  was  Obedience  Robinson,  and  his  children — i.  William  S.;  2.  Alex- 
ander ;  3.  Jacob;  4.  Robinson;  5.  Catharine,  wife  of  William  Mills. 

III.  Jacob  Hanger  removed  to  Ohio.  He  had  three  sons — Robertson 
(formerly  of  New  Hope),  William  and  James. 

IV.  Frederick  Hanger  was  the  ancestor  of  the  Hangers  of  the  southern 
part  of  Augusta  and  Rockbridge. 


A  NIGHT  ALARM. 


On  Friday,  December  11,  1812,  a  negro  girl  was  hung  near  Staunton 
for  the  murder,  by  drowning,  of  her  master's  infant  child.  She  was 
duly  tried  and  convicted  by  the  county  court,  October  29th,  Mr.  Peyton 
prosecuting,  and  General  Blackburn  defending  the  accused.  The  cir- 
cumstance would  not  deserve  mention  in  a  history  of  the  county,  but 
an  incident  connected  with  it  is  somewhat  interesting.  Much  sympathy 
was  excited  in  the  community  in  behalf  of  the  miserable  girl,  many 
persons  doubting  whether  she  intended  to  drown  the  child.  At  any 
rate  there  was  a  feverish  state  of  feeling  on  the  subject. 

During  the  night  after  the  execution  the  people  of  Staunton  were 
aroused  from  their  slumber  by  a  most  unearthly  noise.  Loud  and  appa- 
rently supernatural  groans  resounded  through  the  town.  The  people 
generally  rushed  into  the  streets  to  ascertain  the  cause,  and  some  of  the 
more  superstitious  sort  professed  to  have  seen  the  girl  alluded  to  sitting 
on  the  steps  of  the  jail. 

It  was  years  before  the  cause  of  alarm  was  ascertained.  At  the  time 
of  the  occurrence  and  for  many  years  afterwards,  a  large  two-story 
frame  building  stood  on  the  northwest  corner  of  New  and  Courthouse 
street,  opposite  the  Washington  Tavern,  and  in  this  building  Ben.  Mor- 
ris, a  prosperous  merchant,  had  his  store.  He  had  in  his  employment 
a  mischievous  clerk,  or  salesman,  who  confessed,  when  it  was  safe  to  do 
so,  that  he  had  climbed  upon  the  roof  of  the  store-house  through  the 
trap-door,  and  aroused  the  town  by  means  of  a  speaking-trumpet. 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA   COUNTY.  457 

The  Black  Hawk  War.— In  the  summer  of  1832,  a  breeze  of  excite- 
ment was  caused  in  Staunton  by  the  passage  through  the  town  of  a 
detachment  of  United  States  troops,  returning  to  Fort  Monroe  from 
the  "  Black  Hawk  War,"  in  northwestern  Illinois.  The  detachment 
consisted  of  six  companies  of  artillery,  serving  as  infantry,  taken,  two 
each,  from  the  First,  Third  and  Fourth  regiments,  and  was  commanded 
by  Captain  John  Munroe.  The  commissary  was  Lieutenant  W.  A. 
Thornton,  and  one  of  the  lieutenants  was  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  who  be- 
came the  distinguished  Confederate  General.  The  troops  marched 
through  Main  street  from  the  west  in  military  array,  and  rested  in  the 
meadow  where  the  freight  depot  of  the  Valley  Railroad  now  stands, 
to  take  their  midday  meal.  Arms  were  stacked  and  knapsacks  unslung, 
and  the  soldiers,  producing  from  the  latter  bread  and  bacon,  partook  of 
their  dinner  on  the  grass.  The  officers  dined  at  the  Washington  Tavern, 
then  kept  by  Louis  Harman.  In  the  afternoon  the  command  went  on 
towards  Waynesborough. 

Major  Robert  Anderson,  who  commanded  at  Fort  Sumter  in  1861, 
was  a  lieutenant  of  the  Third  artillery  in  1832  ;  but  whether  he  was  with 
the  detachment  which  came  through  Staunton,  we  do  not  know. 


The  Rev.  William  Wilson  (see  page  134)  had  two  sons.  Dr.  James 
Wilson  and  Thomas  P.  Wilson.  His  brother,  Thomas  Wilson,  married 
a  Miss  Poage,  of  Augusta,  and  settled  in  Morgantown,  Monongalia 
county. 

The  sons  of  Thomas  Wilson  were — i.  Edward  C.  Wilson,  a  lawyer 
and  member  of  Congress ;  2.  Rev.  Norval  Wilson,  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  father  of  Bishop  Alpheus  Wilson  ;  3.  Alpheus  P. 
Wilson,  a  prominent  lawyer  and  member  of  the  State  Senate,  from  a 
district  embracing  all  northwest  Virginia  from  Pennsylvania  to  Ken- 
tucky. He  removed  to  New  Orleans,  and  in  1830  fell  from  a  steamboat 
and  was  drowned. 


The  Hunter  Raid. — As  stated  on  page  317,  the  quartermaster's 
wagons  moved  up  the  Greenville  road  Sunday  evening  June  5,  1864. 
They  arrived  at  Smith's  tavern  long  after  dark.  Resting  there  till  day- 
light, the  train  then  went  on  to  cross  the  Blue  Ridge  at  Tye  River  Gap. 
Reaching  the  top  of  the  mountain,  Monday  evening,  tents  were  pitched, 
and  the  party  made  themselves  as  comfortable  as  they  could.  Many 
refugees,  ladies  as  well  as  men,  with  their  stock,  passed  the  camp  that 
evening  and  the  next  day,  going  into  Nelson  county,  which  was  sup- 
posed to  be  a  safe  retreat.  All  day  Tuesday  the  quartermaster's  party 
remained  on  the  mountain ;  but  on  Wednesday  they  went  down  into 


458  SUPPLEMENT   TO   THE 

Nelson.  Possession  was  taken  of  a  vacant  house  known  as  "  Hub 
bard's  Quarter,"  only  a  few  miles  from  Arrington  depot,  on  the  Orange 
and  Alexandria  railroad,  now  the  Virginia  Midland.  A  long  rest  was 
anticipated  at  that  place,  but  after  dark  a  courier  arrived  bringing  an 
order  from  General  Vaughan  that  the  army  stores  should  be  forwarded 
to  him  at  Rockfish  Gap.  Accordingly,  most  of  the  wagons,  accom- 
panied by  several  officers  and  many  subordinates,  moved  forward  on 
Thursday,  along  the  eastern  base  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  reached  Rock- 
fish  Gap  on  Saturday  the  nth.  There  tidings  were  received  by  tele- 
graph, which  excited  fears  as  to  the  fate  of  the  men  and  stores  left  at 
Hubbard's.  A  party  of  Federal  troops,  it  was  reported,  had  burned 
Arrington  depot.  Several  days  elapsed  before  the  facts  were  ascer- 
tained. 

Captain  R.  H.  Phillips  had  remained  at  Hubbard's  in  charge  of  such 
stores  as  it  was  thought  General  Vaughan  would  not  need,  and  with 
him  were  Anthony  D.  Wren,  James  H.  Blackley,  William  D.  Candler,  and 
other  employees.  While  they  were  waiting  for  their  dinner  on  Satur-i 
day,  to  their  infinite  astonishment  a  party  of  Federal  cavalry  burst 
upon  them,  having  followed  on  their  track  across  the  mountain.  The 
enemy  dashed  up  with  a  shout,  firing  their  pistols  and  demanding  the 
surrender  of  the  "  rebels."  Wren  instantly  fled,  and  escaped  by  con- 
cealing himself  in  an  adjacent  wheat  field  ;  the  others  surrendered  at 
discretion.  Boxes  were  hurriedly  broken  open  and  rifled,  the  house 
was  set  on  fire,  and  in  less  than  half  an  hour  the  enemy  retired  with 
their  prisoners  and  plunder.  The  latter  included  many  valuable  papers 
and  much  jewelry.  On  account  of  his  feeble  physical  condition  at  the 
time,  James  H.  Blackley  was  turned  loose  on  parole  after  a  few  days; 
but  Captain  Phillips  and  William  D.  Candler  were  taken  to  Ohio  and 
detained  for  many  months  in  a  military  prison. 


TRAVELS   ABOUT  HOME. 


The  most  interesting  part  of  Augusta  county,  in  some  respects,  is  the 
strip  of  country  extending  from  the  iron  bridge  across  Middle  river,  on 
the  Staunton  and  Churchville  road,  up  the  river  to  the  mouth  of  Buff"alo 
Branch,  and  up  that  stream  and  Dry  Branch  to  their  respective  sources. 
Middle  river  is  throughout  its  whole  extent  in  Augusta.  From  its  head 
spring,  near  Shemariah  church,  to  its  mouth,  near  Mount  Meridian,  is 
only  about  thirty-five  miles;  but  the  length  of  the  stream,  in  its  mean- 
derings,  is  not  far  short  of  a  hundred  miles.  Beginning  as  a  mountain 
rill,  it  broadens  as  it  goes,  and  towards  its  mouth  becomes  a  wide  and 
beautiful  river. 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  459 

On  the  west  side  of  the  river,  a  little  beyond  the  bridge,  on  the  Dud- 
ley farm,  is  what  remains  of  an  ancient  artificial  mound.  It  has  been 
plowed  over  for  many  years,  and  is  now  nearly  leveled.  Human 
bones,  pipes  and  stone  arrow-heads  have  often  been  turned  up.  It  is 
supposed  that,  before  the  arrival  of  white  people  in  the  Valley,  a  battle 
between  Indians  occurred  at  the  spot,  and  that  the  slain  were  buried 
there. 

Going  up  stream  from  the  bridge  referred  to,  for  about  two  miles,  the 
road  crosses  the  river  seven  times.  This  region  is  thickly  settled,  farm 
houses  being  close  together  on  both  sides  of  the  river.  At  several 
points  cliffs  arise  from  the  margin  of  the  channel,  making  the  scene 
picturesque  and  specially  attractive.  In  one  of  these  cliffs,  probably 
fifty  feet  from  the  base  and  about  twenty-five  feet  from  the  top,  there  is 
a  hole  which  looks  like  the  entrance  to  a  cavern.  Of  course  a  story 
has  been  invented  to  fit  the  hole.  It  is  related  that  in  early  times, 
when  Indians  were  about,  a  white  man  on  horseback  was  pursued  by 
savages,  and  dashing  up  to  the  top  of  the  cliff,  concealed  himself  in  the 
hole,  while  his  horse  pitched  over  and  was  killed.  An  inspection  of  the 
place,  however,  shows  conclusively  that  the  incident  as  related  could 
not  have  occurred. 

But  not  far  west  of  the  cliff,  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  the  last 
massacre  by  Indians  in  the  county  took  place.  As  supposed,  it  was  on 
what  has  been  known  of  late  years  as  the  Geeding  farm,  that  John  Trim- 
ble was  killed,  in  October  1764,  his  dwelling  burnt,  and  his  son  and  step- 
daughter taken  prisoners.  A  mile  or  more  further  westward  stood  then, 
as  now,  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  a  stone  house  called  the  "  Old 
Fort,"  or  "Old  Keller  House,"  which  was  used  in  times  of  danger  as  a 
place  of  refuge  by  the  people  around.  Why  the  Trimbles  did  not  re- 
pair to  this  house  is  not  known.  At  that  very  time,  it  is  believed,  the 
younger  children  of  Alexander  Crawford  were  sheltered  there,  and 
thus  escaped  the  slaughter  which  befell  their  parents  at  their  home.  The 
older  part  of  the  stone  house  is  in  a  state  of  dilapidation,  the  gable  end 
having  fallen  out,  but  the  rafters  and  other  timbers  are  as  sound  as  they 
were  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  ago. 

The  stone  house  stands  in  a  bend  of  Middle  river,  which,  coming 
from  the  south,  there  turns  abruptly  to  the  east.  Just  at  the  bend  Buffalo 
Branch  empties  into  the  river.  At  any  time  when  seen  by  the  writer,  it 
was  a  misnomer  to  call  the  former  a  branch  or  stream,  as  the  bed  was 
"dry  as  a  bone."  The  broad  channel,  however,  was  full  of  well-worn 
river  stones,  and  evidently  a  bold  current  flowed  there  at  times.  Rising 
in  the  Great  North  Mountain  chain,  at  the  foot  of  Elliott's  Knob,  the 
stream,  fed  by  winter  rains  and  melted  snows  in  spring,  flows  through 
Buffalo  Gap  to  join  Middle  River.  For  some  eight  months  in  the  year 
the  channel  is  full,  and  the  water  often  raging,  but  during  the  summer 
and  early  fall  it  is  usually  dry  as  described. 

A  short  distance  west  of  the  mouth  of  Buffalo  Branch  this  stream  is 
joined  by  Dry  Branch.     The  latter  rises  in  the  Little  North  Mountain 


460  SUPPLEMENT   TO   ANNALS   OF   AUGUSTA   COUNTY. 

range,  north  of  Buffalo  Gap,  and  for  a  part  of  the  year  is  a  torrent,  but 
dries  up  in  summer,  as  the  former  does. 

Buffalo  Branch  and  Dry  Branch  come  together  on  land  now  owned 
by  Alexander  B.  Lightner,  where  Thomas  Gardiner  lived  in  1764,  when 
he  was  killed  by  Indians.  South  of  this  point,  and  quite  near,  is  the 
highly  improved  farm  of  Theodore  F.  Shuey.  And  just  there  is  the 
most  beautiful  mountain  view  to  be  found  in  the  county.  Buffalo  Gap 
is  seen  in  the  southwest,  a  few  miles  off,  the  Little  North  Mountain 
opened  down  to  its  base,  and  beyond  the  cleft  Elliott's  Knob  towers  up 
to  the  clouds. 

The  excursionist,  proceeding  along  the  channel  of  Dry  Branch  west- 
ward to  near  the  foot  of  Little  North  Mountain,  will  come  to  the  spot 
where  Alexander-  Crawford  and  his  wife  were  massacred  in  1764. 


SUPPLEMENT   TO    ANNALS    OF   AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  461 


THE.  STUARTS. 


In  former  times  this  name  was  often  written  Stewart,  in  accordance 
with  the  original  Scotch  mode. 

Five  or  more  persons  of  tiie  name  were  among  the  early  settlers  of 
Augusta  county.  One  of  these  (James  Stuart)  died  intestate  in  1758. 
He  was  probably  the  father  of  John  Stuart,  "  of  the  Middle  River  of 
Shenandoe,"  whose  will  was  admitted  to  record  August  21,  1771, 
whose  wife  was  Mary,  and  whose  children  were  John,  James,  Jane,  Mary, 
and  Elizabeth.  Another  John  Stuart  died  in  1790,  probably  son  of  the 
former,  and  in  his  will  mention  is  made  of  his  wife  (Frances)  and  chil- 
dren—Mary, Margaret,  and  Samuel.  Dr.  Peachy  R.  Harrison,  of  Rock- 
ingham, married  Jane,  daughter  of  John  Stuart  of  the  Stone  Church,  or 
Middle  River,  neighborhood  (see  page  415),  and  of  no  other  member  of 
this  particular  family  have  we  any  account. 

Three  other  early  settlers  named  Stuart— Archibald,  David,  and 
John— are  believed  to  have  been  brothers,  and  of  these  and  their 
descendants  we  have  the  following  information  : 

Archibald  Stuart. — See  a  short  sketch  on  page  192.  His  will  was 
admitted  to  record  November  17,  1761,  and  in  it  he  mentioned  his  wife 
(Janet),  his  sons  Thomas,  Alexander,  and  Benjamin,  his  daughter 
Eleanor,  and  his  grandson  and  namesake  Archibald  (Judge  Stuart). 

I.  Thomas  Stuart  married  Elizabeth  Moore,  and  had  nine  children. 
His  sons  were — 

1.  James,  who  settled  in  Tennessee. 

2.  Thomas,  an  officer  in  the  United  States  army. 

3.  Robert,  who  settled  in  Botetourt. 
Among  his  daughters  were — 

1.  Miss  Jenny  Stuart,  baptized  by  the  Rev.  John  Craig  in  1747,  lived 
in  Staunton  to  a  great  age,  and  left  a  considerable  estate  which  she  had 
managed  with  masculine  energy  and  skill.  She  owned  and  resided  on 
the  lot  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Beverley  and  Augusta  streets.  She 
also  owned  the  lot  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Frederick  and  Lewis 
streets,  where  her  barn  and  stable  were,  and  many  acres  near  the  town. 
In  early  life  she  recovered  heavy  damages  from  her  cousin.  Dr.  Isaac 
Hall,  the  first  of  that  name  and  title,  in  a  suit  for  breach  of  marriage 
contract,  which  was  the  foundation  of  her  fortune. 

2.  Julia,  first  wife  of  Captain  William  Lyle,  of  Rockbridge,  and 
mother  of  the  late  Mrs.  Dr.  Henry  Ruffner,  of  Lexington,  and  others. 

3.  Mary,  wife  of  James  Moffett,  of  Augusta,  and  mother  of  (i)  John 
Moffett,  (2)  William  Moffett,  (3)  Betsy,  wife  of  John  McClanahan,  (4) 
Robert  S.  Moffett,  (5)  Jane,  wife  of  Dr.  John  K.  Moore,  (6)  Mary,  wife 
of  Alexander  T.  Barclay,  (7)  Thomas  MoflTett,  and  (S)  fulia,  wife  of 
William  Paxton. 


462  SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE 

4.  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Captain  William  Paxton,  of  Rockbridge,  had 
five  children,  among  them  the  late  Mrs.  Alexander  S.  Hall,  of  Staunton. 

II.  Alexander  Sluari— the  Major  Stuart  of  the  Revolution  (see  pages 
iSo  and  192).  He  died  when  nearly  ninety  years  of  age.  His  first  wife 
was  Mary  Patterson,  whose  children  were — 

1.  Archibald,  the  judge,  whose  wife  was  Eleanor  Briscoe,  of  Maryland. 
See  page  246,  and  elsewhere. 

2.  Robert,  of  Rockbridge,  whose  wife  was  Elizabeth  McClung.  He 
was  the  father  of  the  late  Major  Alexander  B.  Stuart,  and  died  in  1S27. 

3.  Frances,  wife  of  John  Lyle,  of  Rockbridge,  and  mother  of  Mrs. 
John  McDowell,  who  for  many  years  lived  near  Staunton. 

4.  Jane,  wife  of  Alexander  Walker. 

5.  Mary,  wife  of  Alexander  Hall,  and  mother  of  the  late  Alexander 
S.  Hall,  of  Staunton,  Dr.  Isaac  Hall,  Jr.,  and  others. 

6.  Elizabeth. 

7.  Eleanor. 

Major  Stuart's  second  wife  was  Mary  Moore,  aunt  of  t(je  Mary  Moore 
who  is  known  as  "the  captive  of  Abb's  Valley."  Her  children  were 
James,  Priscilla  (wife  of  Benjamin  Hall),  Alexander,  and  Benjamin. 
Alexander  was  judge  of  the  United  States  Court  in  Missouri,  father  of 
Hon.  Archibald  Stuart,  of  Patrick  county,  and  grandfather  of  General 
J.  E.  B.  Stuart  of  Confederate  fame. 

III.  Benjamin  Stuart,  whose  children  were — 

1.  Major  Archibald  Stuart,  the  Captain  Stuart  of  the  war  of  1S12  (see 
page  231).     His  sons  were  Andrew  and  Benjamin. 

2.  John,  who  removed  to  Indiana. 

3.  Mrs.  Nancy  Alexander,  mother  of  Dr.  Cyrus  Alexander. 

4.  Mrs.  Mary  McClung. 

5.  Mrs.  Bettie  Allen,  second  wife  of  Dr.  James  Allen. 

IV.  Eleanor,  daughter  of  Achibald  and  Janet  Stuart,  married  Edward 
Hall,  a  native  of  North  Ireland,  who  came  to  the  Valley  in  1736,  and 
settled  on  South  river,  six  miles  above  Waynesboro'.  They  were  mar- 
ried April  24,  1744,  and  had  ten  children,  several  of  whom  died  young. 
Those  who  lived  to  maturity  were — 

1.  Isaac  Hall,  Sr.,  born  May  12,  1747,  and  studied  medicine  in  Scot- 
land. He  jilted  his  cousin.  Miss  Jenny  Stuart,  and  suffered  the  penalty, 
as  stated.  His  wife  was  Martha  Everard,  of  Petersburg,  where  he 
resided. 

2.  Sally  Hall,  born  December  19,  1751,  and  married  Captain  James 
Tate,  who  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Guilford  (see  page  192).  She  after- 
wards married  Hugh  Fulton. 

3.  Thomas  Hall,  born  August  31,  1754 — twice  married. 

4.  Elizabeth  Hall,  born  December  27,  1756,  married  Colonel  Andrew 
Fulton  (see  pages  180  and  222).  Judge  Andrew  Fulton,  of  Wythe,  and 
John  H.  Fulton,  M.  C.  of  the  Wythe  District,  were  sons  of  Andrew  and 
Elizabeth  Fulton. 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  463 

5.  Alexander  Hall,  born  May  24,  1759,  inherited  his  father's  home- 
stead. Married  his  cousin,  Mary  Patterson  Stuart,  daughter  of  Major 
Alexander  Stuart  and  sister  of  judge  Archibald  Stuart.  Among  his 
children  were  Mrs.  Eleanor  Douglass,  Alexander  S.  Hall,  Dr.  Isaac 
Hall,  Jr.,  and  others. 

6.  Benjamin  Hall,  born  February  17,  1765,  married  his  cousin  Friscilla 
Stuart,  and  removed  to  Missouri. 

7.  John  Hall,  born  May  31,  1767,  settled  in  North  Carolina,  and  was  a 
judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  that  State  (see  page  279). 

David  Stuart.— It  is  stated  on  page  117  that  a  John  Stuart  married 
the  widow  of  John  Paul,  and  came  to  Virginia  in  1752  with  Governor 
Dinwiddle.  The  statement,  made  on  the  authority  of  VVithers's  "  Bor- 
der Warfare,"  is  erroneous.  It  was  David  Stuart,  the  Captain  and 
Colonel  Stuart  of  the  Indian  wars  (see  pages  83,  90,  etc.),  who  married 
the  widow  Paul.  If  he  ever  was  a  protege  of  Dinwiddie  he  soon  lost 
the  Governor's  good-will,  as  many  of  the  Dinwiddie  letters  e.xpress 
great  dislike  to  Stuart.  The  probability  is  that  Stuart  had  no  personal 
connection  with  Governor  Dinwiddie.  He  certainly  settled  in  the 
Valley  long  before  Dinwidclie  became  Governor  of  the  Colony.  A 
David  Stuart,  an  adult,  was  baptized  by  Mr.  Craig  January  2t,  1747, 
"after  profession  of  faith  and  obedience."  Colonel  Stuart  is  said  to 
have  lost  his  life  by  drowning  in  the  Shenandoah  river. 

The  will  of  David  Stuart  was  admitted  to  record  iMarch  19.  1767.  It 
was  written  by  himself,  and  its  meaning  is  doubtful  in  several  particu- 
lars. The  testator  mentioned  his  wife  Margaret,  his  son  John,  his 
daughters  "Sebing"  [Sabina]  and  Elizabeth,  and  his  wife's  daughter, 
Mary  "  Pail  "  [Paul].  Mrs.  Stuart  is  said  to  have  been  a  niece  of  Mrs. 
Lewis,  wife  of  Colonel  John  Lewis,  the  pioneer  settler,  and  she  and  her 
second  husband  are  said  to  have  been  married  in  Wales,  before  they 
came  to  America.  The  will  appointed  William  Lewis  and  George 
Mathews  executors ;  but  the  former  declining  to  serve,  Mathews  and 
Andrew  Lewis  qualified  as  administrators  with  the  will  annexed. 

Mary  Paul,  the  step-daughter,  married  George  Mathews  (see  page 
190). 

I.  John  Stuart,  son  of  David,  is  well  known  as  Colonel  John  Stuart, 
of  Greenbrier.  He  was  born  in  Augusta,  March  27.  1749  [Johnston's 
Old  Clerks\.  If  the  date  of  his  birth  is  correctly  given,  he  was  only 
twenty  years  of  age  when  he,  with  Robert  McClanahan,  Thomas  Renick 
(see  pages  107  and  125),  and  William  Hamilton,  went  to  Greenbrier,  in 
1769,  and  made  the  first  permanent  settlement  in  that  region.  McClan- 
ahan was  only  a  few  months  older.  Stuart  was  a  captain  in  Colonel 
Fleming's  regiment  at  Point  Pleasant,  in  1774.  In  1778  a  party  of  In- 
dians assailed  Fort  Donnally,  eight  miles  north  of  the  site  of  Lewisburg, 
then  called  Fort  Union.  Stuart  was  at  the  latter  place,  and  organizing 
a  force,  went  to  the  relief  of  Donnally.  The  Indians  were  defeated, 
and  never  again  invaded  that  region. 


464  SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE 

After  the  organization  of  Greenbrier  county  Colonel  Stuart  was  ap- 
pointed clerk  of  the  County  Court,  and  held  the  office  from  1780  until 
1807.  At  the  end  of  the  first  deed-book  he  copied  his  "  Memoir,"  from 
which  we  have  made  copious  extracts.  His  wife  was  Agatha,  daughter 
of  Thomas  Lewis,  and  widow  of  Captain  John  Frogg,  who  was  killed 
at  Point  Pleasant  (see  page  136),  to  whom  he  was  married  in  177S.  His 
death  occurred  August  23.  1823.     He  had  four  children,  viz. : 

1.  Margaret,  wife  of  Andrew  Lewis,  of  Mason  county,  a  son  of  Colonel 
Charles  Lewis. 

2.  Jane,  wife  of  Robert  Crockett,  of  Wythe  county,  and  mother  of 
the  late  Charles  S.  Crockett  and  of  the  first  wife  of  Judge  James  E. 
Brown,  of  Wythe.  [Judge  Brown  was  a  son  of  Judge  John  Brown,  the 
first  Chancellor  of  the  Staunton  District,  and  was  reared  at  Staunton. 
His  second  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Judge  Alexander  Stuart.  Her  only 
son  (Alexander  Stuart  Brown),  who  died  early,  was  a  young  man  of 
brilliant  promise.] 

3.  Charles  A.  Stuart,  whose  wife  was  Elizabeth  Robinson  (see  page 

447)- 

4.  Lewis  Stuart,  married  Sarah  Lewis,*  of  Bath  county,  a  grand- 
daughter of  Colonel  Charles  Lewis.  He  succeeded  his  father  as  clerk 
in  1807,  and  died  in  1837.  His  children  were  five  sons — ^John,  Charles 
A.,  Lewis,  Henry,  and  John— and  four  daughters.  One  of  his  daugh- 
ters was  the  wife  of  the  late  Samuel  Price,  at  one  time  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  Virginia,  and  afterwards  United  States  Senator  from  West 
Virginia.  The  others  were  Mrs.  A.  W.  G.  Davis,  Mrs.  Charles  L.  Pay- 
ton,  and  Mrs.  James  W   Davis. 

IL  Sadina  Stuart,  daughter  of  David  Stuart,  married  first  a  Wilson, 
and  secondly  a  Williams.  Her  daughter,  Margaret  Lynn  Williams, 
married  Thomas  Creigh,  and  was  the  mother  of  (i)  David  Creigh  (see 
pages  320  and  322),  (2)  Dr.  Thomas  Creigh,  (3)  Mrs.  Watson,  wife  of 
Judge  Watson,  of  Charlottesville.  (4)  Mrs.  John  R.  Woods,  (5)  Mrs.  Pres- 
ton, wife  of  the  Rev.  David  Preston. 

in.  Elizabeth  Stuart,  daughter  of  David  Stuart,  married  Colonel 
Richard  Woods,  of  Albemarle. 

John  Stuart. — The  Rev.  Robert  Stuart,  of  Kentucky,  in  a  brief 
memoir  found  among  his  papers  after  his  death,  states  that  his  grand- 
parents came  from  the  north  of  Ireland  and  settled  on  Walker's  Creek, 
in  Borden's  tract.  Mr.  Stuart  was  born  in  1772  and  distinctly  remem- 
bered his  grandmother.  He  does  not  mention  the  names  of  his  grand- 
parents. They  brought  with  them  to  America  an  infant  son  named 
John.  Another  son  was  born  here,  but  died  young,  and  there  were  no 
other  children. 

We  find  from  old  deeds  that  John  Stuart  and  Robert  Stuart  were 
among  the  early  settlers  in  "  Borden's  tract,"  and  that  their  lands  were 
contiguous.  Of  Robert  we  have  no  other  information.  He  may  have 
been  the  father  of  the  John  Stuart  just  mentioned  and  grandfather  of 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  465 

the  Rev.  Robert  Stuart.  Init  tlie  desceiulants  of  tfie  latter  iliink  tlie 
grandfather  was  named  John. 

Henjaniin  Borden,  Sr.,  who  died  in  1742,  sold  .several  tracts  of  land  to 
John  Stuart.  One  of  these  was  not  conveyed  till  Benjamin  Borden.  Jr., 
made  the  deed,  in  1752.  Tlie  tract  is  described  35313  acre-,  being  a 
part  of  Borden's  "large  grant  of  92.100  acres"  A  John  Stuart— no 
doubt  the  person  Just  mentioned— was  one  of  the  signers  to  the  "  call  " 
to  the  Rev.  John  Brown,  in  1752,  to  become  pastor  of  Timber  Ridge 
and  New  Providence  churches. 

Next  we  find  that  Joseph  Mays  conveyed  to  John  Stuart  a  half  acre 
lot  in  Staunton  in  1757,  lot  No.  3  at  southwest  corner  of  Beverley  and 
Augusta  streets.  On  September  6.  1762,  John  Stuart  and  Sarah,  his 
wife,  conveyed  one-half  of  the  lot  to  Thomas  Lewis,  Andrew  Lewis  and 
William  Preston.  Stuart  then  lived  on  the  other  half,  as  appears  from 
the  deed.  The  part  retained  in  1762  was  conveyed  by  Stuart  and  wife, 
in  1764,  to  Israel  Christian.  In  1765  John  Stuart  executed  to  David 
Stuart  a  bill  of  sale  for  a  negro  woman  and  child  and  four  feather  beds. 

The  John  Stuart,  who  was  a  party  to  the  various  deeds  referred  to,  is 
presumed  to  have  been  the  same  person  who  settled  in  Borden's  tract, 
and  the  reputed  brother  of  Archibald  and  David  Stuart.  His  perma- 
nent home  was  on  Walker's  Creek,  six  miles  west  of  Brownsburg. 
During  Indian  times  his  dwelling  was  fortified  to  resist  attacks,  and 
several  Lochaber-axes  and  other  ancient  weapons  are  still  preserved 
by  his  descendants.  It  would  seem  that,  feeling  insecure  on  Walker's 
Creek,  he  removed  to  Staunton  in  or  about  the  year  1757,  and  remained 
there  till  1764  or  1765,  when  the  Indian  wars  of  that  period  were  over. 

John  Stuart,  only  child  of  his  parents,  was  born  in  1740  and  succeeded 
to  his  father's  estate.  He  married  Elizabeth  Walker  and  lived  and  died 
on  Walker's  Creek.  During  the  Revolutionary  war  he  served  as  a  sol- 
dier, and  at  the  battle  of  Guilford  was  an  officer.  According  to  a  family 
tradition,  he  visited  Ireland  in  1786  and  brought  back  with  him  a  con- 
siderable sum  of  money.  He  died  in  1831,  when  fully  ninety  years  of 
age.     His  children  were— 

r.  James  Stuart,  who  when  a  youth  served  in  the  American  army  at 
Yorktown.  He  settled  at  Orangeburg,  S.  C,  and  became  wealthy. 
Marrying  a  widow  lady,  originally  IMiss  Ann  Sabb,  he  had  one  child, 
who  became  the  wife  of  William  L.  Lewis,  a  grandson  of  Colonel 
William  Lewis  and  great-grandson  of  John  Lewis.  His  grandson,  Dr. 
James  Stuart  Lewis,  lives  in  Florida. 

2.  Mary  Stuart,  daughter  of  John  and  Elizabeth,  married  William 
Walker  and  had  three  sons  and  two  daughters.  Her  descendants  are 
Walkers,  Rowans,  Browns,  Stricklers,  etc. 

3.  John  Stuart,  married  Virginia  Wardlaw  and  removed  to  Missouri. 

4.  Robert  Stuart,  D.  D.,  born  in  1772,  educated  at  Liberty  Hall 
Academy  and  Washington  College,  licensed  as  a  Presbyterian  minister 
in  1795,  and  went  to  Kentucky  before  the  year  iSoo.     For  some  years 


466  SUPPLEME^'T    TO    THE 

he  was  a  professor  in  Transylvania  University'.  He  died  in  1S56.  His 
wife  was  Hannah  Todd,  daughter  of  General  Levi  Todd.  Among  his 
children  were  John  Todd  Stuart,  a  distinguished  citizen  of  Illinois  ; 
Robert  Stuart,  of  Missouri ;  the  Rev.  David  Stuart,  one  of  whose  sons 
(Rev.  John  T.  Stuart)  is  a  missionary  in  China  ;  and  the  Rev.  S.  D. 
Stuart,  of  Abingdon,  Virginia.  The  only  son  of  the  last  named  (Addi- 
son Waddfcll  Stuart),  a  noble  youth,  died  in  the  Confederate  army  in 
1863,  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  his  age. 

5.  Joseph  Stuart,  died  of  yellow  fever  in  Charleston,  S.  C,  unmarried. 

6.  Hugh  Stuart,  married  Betsy  Walker  and  lived  on  Walker's  Creek. 
He  was  the  father  of  Mrs.  Andrew  Patterson. 

7.  Alexander  Stuart,  married  a  Miss  Walker  and  lived  on  Walker's 
Creek.     He  had  no  children. 

8.  Walker  Stuart,  married  Mary  McClure  and  lived  at  the  ancestral 
home.  He  had  four  sons  (John  H.,  William  W.,  Alexander  and  James 
J.)  and  one  daughter,  Mary,  wife  of  James  Brown.  W.  C.  Stuart,  of 
Lexington,  is  a  son  of  James  J.  Stuart;  and  the  Rev.  C.  G.  Brown,  a 
missionary  in  Japan,  is  a  son  of  James  and  Mary  Stuart  Brown. 

The  male  descendants  oi  Judge  Archibald  Stuart  are  nearly  extinct. 
His  oldest  son.  Thomas  Jefferson  Stuart,  had  two  sons,  both  of  whom 
died  young.  The  elder  of  the  two.  Colonel  William  D.  Stuart,  was 
mortally  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  as  stated  on  page  333. 

The  Hon.  Alexander  H.  H.  Stuart,  Judge  Stuart's  fourth  and  youngest 
son,  had  three  sons,  all  of  whom  were  cut  off  in  the  prime  of  life  and 
unmarried.  The  eldest,  Briscoe  Baldwin  Stuart,  called  for  his  maternal 
grandfather.  Judge  Briscoe  G.  Baldwin,  was  a  lawyer  of  great  promise. 
He  was  about  to  marry  a  young  lady  of  Louisiana,  and  in  1859,  while 
on  his  way  to  consummate  the  engagement,  the  Mississippi  steamboat, 
on  which  he  was  a  passenger,  was  blown  up,  and  he  was  so  badly 
scalded  that  he  died  in  a  short  time.  His  age  was  only  twenty-three. 
The  next  son,  Alexander  H.  H.,  Jr.  (called  Sandy),  while  a  cadet  at  the 
Virginia  Military  Institute,  participated  in  the  battle  of  New  Market  and 
continued  in  the  military  service  till  the  war  ended.  He  then  entered 
the  University  of  Virginia  as  a  student  and  pursued  his  studies  with 
great  success ;  but  at  the  close  of  the  session  of  1S67  he  contracted 
fever  and  died  in  July  following,  aged  twenty-one  years.  The  third  son, 
Archibald  Gerard,  a  talented  young  lawyer,  died  in  18S5,  aged  twenty- 
seven,  after  a  protracted  period  of  ill-health.  While  a  student  at  the 
University,  he  achieved  great  distinction,  being  awarded  "the  debater's 
medal  "  by  the  Jefferson  Society. 

John  A.  Stuart,  a  highly  respectable  farmer  of  Augusta  county,  who 
also  was  with  the  cadets  at  New  Market,  is  a  son  of  Archibald  P.  Stuart, 
Judge  Stuart's  second  son. 


James  G.  Birnev  was  not  a  descendant  of  Samuel   McDowell,  as 
stated  on  page  399.     His  wife  was,  however. 


ANNALS   OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  467 


THOMAS  LEWIS'S  JOURNAL. 


The  journal  of  Thomas  Lewis,  the  first  surveyor  of  Augusta  county, 
of  the  expedition  of  himself  and  otliers  in  1746,  undertaken  to  establish 
a  part  of  the  line  of  Lord  Fairfax's  grant,  is  preserved  by  Mr.  Lewis's 
descendants.  It  constitutes  a  manuscript  volume  of  many  pages,  most 
of  which  record  only  courses  and  distances.  But  here  and  there  are 
items  of  more  or  le.ss  interest.     We  make  the  following  extracts : 

''Wednesday,  September  10th,  y/yd.— Set  out  from  home  in  order  to 
wait  on  his  Majesty's  and  the  Right  Honorable  Thomas  Lord  Fairfax's 
Commissioners  at  Captain  Downs's,  from  thence  to  proceed  to  run  the 
dividing  line  between  his  Majesty  and  Lord  Fairfax,  from  the  head 
spring  of  the  Rappahannock  to  the  head  spring  of  the  north  branch  of 
Potowmack.     Lay  at  Michael  Woods's  this  night,  having  rode  20  miles." 

At  the  date  mentioned  Thomas  Lewis  was  twenty-eight  years  of  age. 
He  married  in  1749,  3ri<^'  '"  1751  bought  the  land  on  the  Shenandoah 
river,  near  the  present  village  of  Port  Republic,  where  he  afterward 
lived  and  died.  His  home  in  1746  was  probably  at  his  father's,  on  Lewis's 
Creek,  about  two  miles  northeast  of  Staunton.  Michael  Woods  resided 
east  of  the  Blue  Ridge  in  Albemarle.  The  road,  or  path,  between  the 
homes  of  Lewis  and  Woods  was  through  Woods's  Gap,  now  called 
Jarman's. 

Captain  Downs  was  probably  the  Henry  Downs  who  was  presented 
by  the  Grand  Jury  of  Orange  county,  in  1740,  "for  Sabbath-breaking  by 
traveling  with  loaded  horses  to  Sharrendo."     See  page  3S5. 

On  Thursday  the  surveyor  set  off  very  earlj,  was  very  sick,  but  rode 
thirty-five  miles  to  one  Franklin's,  where  he  put  up. 

There  is  a  popular  belief  in  Albemarle  that  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin 
at  one  time  owned  land  and  resided  in  that  county,  but  the  Albemarle 
Franklin  was  no  doubt  the  person  mentioned  above.  Dr.  Franklin  was 
then  in  Philadelphia  engaged  in  the  study  of  electricity.  The  journal 
proceeds : 

''''Friday. — Set  out  about  nine.  Got  to  Captain  Downs's,  where  was 
Colonel  Fry,  one  of  his  Majesty's  Commissioners,  Colonel  Jefferson,  one 
of  the  surveyors  for  his  Majesty,  and  Captain  Winslo,  for  Lord  Fairfax. 
After  having  eat  breakfast,  came  the  Honorable  William  Fairfax  and 
Colonel  William  Beverley,  his  Lordship's  Commissioners  Likewise 
Colonel  Lomax,  one  of  his  Majesty's  Commissioners.  Likewise  George 
Fairfax,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  Robert  Brooke,  one  of  his  Majesty's  surveyors." 

Colonel  Joshua  Fry,  a  native  of  England,,  was  at  one  time  Professor 
of  Mathematics  in  William  and  Mary  College,  but  in  1746  resided  in 
Albemarle.  In  1752,  he  and  Lunsford  Lomax  and  James  Patton  con- 
cluded a  treaty  with  the  Indians  at  Logstown  (see  pages  48  and  421). 
He  and  Peter  Jefferson  completed  the  map  of  Virginia,  known  as  "  Fry 


468  SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE 

and  Jefferson's."  In  1754  he  was  Colonel  commanding  the  Virginia 
forces  against  the  French,  and  died  on  his  way  with  the  troops  to  the 
Ohio  (see  page  61). 

Colonel  Peter  Jefferson,  father  of  the  President,  was  county  surveyor 
and  subsequently  county  lieutenant  of  Albemarle.  He  died  in  1757 
Colonel  Beverley  was  the  patentee  of  "  Beverley's  Manor,"  in  Augusta 
(see  pages  14  and  15).  Colonel  Lomax,  grandfather  of  the  late  Judge 
J.  T.  Lomax,  of  Fredericksburg,  was  a  Burgess  from  Caroline  county  in 
1756.  Mr.  Robert  Brooke  was  the  grandfather  of  Governor  Robert 
Brooke  and  Judge  Francis  T.  Brooke.  He  accompanied  Governor 
Spotswood  in  his  visit  to  the  Valley  in  1716  (see  page  7). 

The  baggage  for  the  expedition  was  brought  to  Captain  Downs's  by 
wagon  on  the  12th,  but  the  horses  did  not  arrive  till  the  next  day.  In 
the  meanwhile  a  camp  was  pitched  in  a  field  and  was  visited  by  "a 
great  number  of  the  neighboring  gentlemen." 

"Sunday  14th, — Most  of  the  gentlemen  went  to  hear  Mr.  Marshall 
preach,  who  returned  with  them  to  dinner.  Several  of  us  solicited  him 
to  preach  us  a  sermon  before  we  set  off.  He,  after  making  several  reli- 
gious evasions,  showed  us  the  impossibility  thereof,  and  so  bid  us  fare- 
well." 

The  Rev,  Mungo  Marshall  was  rector  of  the  first  Orange  church. 
This  church  stood  about  ten  miles  northwest  of  Orange  C.  H.,  near  an 
ancient  mound  or  burial  place  of  Indians,  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Rapidan  river.  Mr.  Marshall  died  in  175S.  The  vandal  spirit  which  led 
to  the  dismantling  and  destruction  of  many  old  colonial  churches,  did 
not  spare  his  grave.  His  tombstone  was  carried  off,  and  first  used  to 
grind  paint  on,  and  afterward  hides  were  dressed  on  it  in  a  tannery. — 
(Bishop  Meade). 

Colonel  Peter  Hedgeman,  one  of  his  Majesty's  Commissioners,  joined 
the  party  on  the  15th,  most  of  which  dav  was  spent  in  inspecting  the 
horses.  Fourteen  horses  were  pronounced  fit  for  service.  The  number 
of  men  in  the  expedition  was  forty. 

Several  days  more  were  passed  in  preparations.  During  the  night  of 
the  17th  the  camp  was  aroused  by  a  quarrel  amongst  a  crowd  of 
drunken  people,  who  used  fence  rails  and  stakes  "with  tolerable  good 
success." 

The  baggage  being  all  packed  on  the  iSth,  a  part  was  sent  off  under 
Mr.  Anthony,  one  of  the  stewards,  by  the  way  of  Swift  Run  Gap,  there 
to  be  ready  when  the  party  should  get  over  the  Blue  Ridge ;  the  other, 
under  Mr.  Genn,  to  the  head  of  the  Conoway  (now  Conway,  a  branch  of 
the  Rapidan),  where  the  survey  was  to  begin. 

''Friday,  igth. — We  set  off  from  Captain  Downs's  with  expectation  of 
reaching  head  of  Conoway  that  night.  Colonel  Fairfax  and  Colonel 
Beverley  outrode  the  rest.  We  called  at  Hickley's  and  regaled  our- 
selves with  some  very  good  cider.  Night  coming  on,  we  were  obliged 
to  encamp  in  the  mountain  before  we  got  to  ye  spring  head." 


ANNALS  OF  AUGUSTA  COUNTY.  469 

"Saiurdav.  20th.— The  mountains  made  such  a  dismal  appearance 
that  John  Thomas,  one  of  our  men,  took  sick  on  the  same  and  so  re- 
turned home." 

About  12  o'clock  on  Saturday  the  party  reached  the  camp  of  Fairfax 
and  Beverley,  at  the  head  of  the  river,  and  immediately  proceeded  to 
discover,  if  possible,  which  branch  the  surveyors  had  measured  up  in 
1736.  After  an  unsuccessful  search,  it  was  determined  on  the  22d  to 
survey  three  branches  in  order  to  discover  the  right  or  main  branch. 

'■'Monday,  2gth. — It  being  impossible  to  take  our  horses  over  the 
Peaked  Mountain,  they  were  sent  over  Massanutten  Gap '"  (now  New 
Market  Gap)  "with  the  commissioners  and  baggage.  Mr.  Brooke  and 
I  went  up  to  where  we  left  ofif  on  Saturday." 

^'Friday,  October  ^d. — This  day  several  of  the  horses  had  like  been 
killed,  tumbling  over  rocks  and  precipices,  and  ourselves  often  in  the 
utmost  danger.    This  terrible  place  was  called  Purgatory  " 

^'Sunday,  5///.— Our  situation  was  such  we  could  not  lie  by.  Our 
horses  were  starving ;  our  provisions  not  being  sufficient  for  us  more 
than  one  day  made  it  a  work  of  necessity  for  us  to  press  forward."  The 
mountain  was  "  exceedingly  high  and  very  rocky,"  and  darkness  over- 
took them.  "We  had  like  been  killed  with  repeated  falls,"  and  the 
horses  were  in  a  pitiable  condition.  At  length  they  reached  the  foot 
of  the  mountain,  but  their  condition  was  not  much  improved,  "there 
being  a  large  water  course"  with  steep  banks,  which  they  had  often  to 
cross.  After  almost  giving  up  in  despair,  they  reached  camp  about  ten 
o'clock,  "  hardly  any  of  us  escaping  without  broken  shins  or  some  other 
misfortune."  But  on  the  morning  of  the  6th  they  began  again  on  the 
top  of  the  mountain. 

The  commissioners  went  by  an  easier  route,  leaving  the  surveyors  to 
contend  with  the  difficulties  of  the  mountains.  On  October  7th  "we 
were  very  much  put  to  for  want  of  water.  We  could  find  no  other  than 
a  standing  puddle  wherein  the  bears  used  to  wallow." 

"  Thursday,  gth. — Went  to  see  Coburns  who,  with  his  wife  and  miller, 
a  buxom  lass,  repaid  the  visit  in  the  evening,  which  we  spent  very 
merrily."         « 

On  Friday  the  loth  the  party  paused  at  the  furthest  settlement  to  ob- 
tain a  supply  of  provisions,  to  have  the  shoes  of  the  horses  fastened  on, 
and  to  allow  the  men  to  wash  t,heir  shirts.  On  the  nth  they  camped 
on  Looney's  Creek,  which  runs  into  the  South  Branch. 

'•  Tuesday,  14th. — This  river  was  called  Styx,  from  the  dismal  appear- 
ance of  the  place,  being  sufficient  to  strike  terror  in  any  human  creature. 
The  laurel,  ivy  and  spruce  pines  so  extremely  thick  in  a  swamp  through 
which  the  river  runs  that  one  cannot  have  the  least  prospect  except  he 
look  upwards.  The  water  of  the  river  of  a  dark  brownish  color,  and 
its  motion  so  slow  that  it  can  hardly  be  said  to  move.  Its  depth  about 
four  feet.  The  bottom  muddy  and  banks  high,  which  made  it  difficult 
for  us  to  cross.     Most  of  the  horses,  when  they  attempted  to  ascend  the 


470  SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE 

furthest  bank,  tumbled  with  their  loads  back  in  the  river.  Most  of  our 
baggage,  that  would  have  been  damaged  by  the  water,  was  brought 
over  on  men's  shoulders,  such  as  powder,  bread  and  bedclothes." 

Being  without  food  for  man  or  beast  on  Sunday  the  19th.  the  party 
had  to  push  on.  On  Monday  the  20th,  a  deer  and  turkey  were  killed. 
They  heard  guns  which  they  supposed  were  fired  by  Indians,  of  whom 
none  were  seen.  On  the  28th  one  of  the  men  surprised  and  killed  a 
buck  with  an  axe,  and  on  the  same  day  the  party  arrived  again  at 
Coburn's,  on  Mill  Creek.     Several  of  the  inhabitants  came  to  see  them. 

"  Thursday, soth. — This  being  his  Majesty's  birthday,"  (George  II)  "  we 
concluded  the  evening  in  merriment.  Drank  his  Majesty's  health, 
which  was  followed  by  a  discharge  of  nine  guns." 

'  Saturday,  November  Sth. — Went  down  to  Lockhart's  and  encamped. 
Here  we  had  left  some  rum  and  wine,  which  contributed  to  our  spend- 
ing the  evening  very  pleasantly,  rejoicing  we  had  surmounted  so  many 
difficulties."  Here  also  two  of  the  men  fell  out  and  one  offered  the 
other  a  "  piece  of  eight  "  to  fight  him.  The  challenged  party  accepted 
and  won  the  money,  which,  however,  was  recovered  before  a  justice  in 
Orange. 

On  Thursday,  November  13th,  the  commissioners  and  surveyors  were 
together  again.  The  party  dined  and  drank  '  his  Majesty's  and  Lord 
Fairfax's  health,  which  was  accompanied  with  a  discharge  of  nine  guns 
to  each  health."  At  "  Buckner's  Quarter"  they  got  some  cider  and 
apples. 

Colonel  Jefferson  and  Mr.  Brooke  set  off  for  home  on  Saturday,  No- 
vernber  15th.  On  Monday  the  17th,  most  of  the  men  being  discharged, 
the  horses,  tents,  etc.,  were  set  up  at  auction  at  Captain  Downs's,  and 
on  the  same  day  Mr.  Lewis  took  leave  of  the  "gentlemen  commis- 
sioners "  and  started  home.  He  arrived  at  Michael  Woods's  about  two 
o'clock,  crossed  the  Blue  Ridge  that  evening,  spent  the  night  at  Samuel 
Gay's,  and  reached  home  on  the  19th,  having  been  absent  two  months 
and  nine  days. 

The  surveyors  had  agreed  to  meet  at  Colonel  Jefferson's  the  first  of 
January  "to  make  out  what  plans  of  the  Northern  Neck  were  wanted." 
Therefore  Mr.  Lewis  took  to  horse  again  on  December  30th  and  arrived 
at  Colonel  Jefferson's  on  the  3d  of  January.  The  other  surveyors,  Mr. 
Brooke  and  Captain  Winslo,  not  coming,  he  waited  till  the  14th.  and 
then  started  to  Essex  county  in  search  of  them.  He  arrived  at  Mr. 
Brooke's  the  night  of  the  15th,  visited  Colonel  Beverley  on  the  i6th, 
and  in  the  evening  went  with  Mr.  Brooke  to  see  Colonel  Lomax. 

On  the  23d  the  surveyors  assembled  at  Colonel  Jefferson's,  and  began 
their  "plans  of  the  Northern  Neck"  the  next  day.  But  finding  they 
wanted  paper  and  other  things,  they  had  to  send  to  Williamsburg  for  a 
supply.  On  Sunday,  February  2d,  saj-s  the  journal,  "  we  all  rode  down 
to  Richmond  church,  where  we  heard  the  Reverend  Mr.  Stith  preach. 
The  gentlemen  of  the  town  treated  us  to  a  handsome  dinner  at  Mr. 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  471 

Coale's  ordinary."  By  February  21st  Captain  Winslo  and  Mr.  Lewis 
"made  seven  plans  of  the  Xortiiern  Neck  on  Lord  Fairfax's  account, 
according  to  our  instructions  from  Colonel  Beverley,"  and  starting  from 
Colonel  Jefferson's  on  the  22d,  Mr.  Lewis  reached  home  on  the  24th. 

Colonel  Jefferson's  residence  was  at  Shadwell,  in  Albemarle,  whicn  is 
seventy  or  eighty  miles  from  Richmond.  It  is  impossible,  therefore, 
that  the  party  could  have  ridden  tociiurch  on  a  Sunday  morning,  as  the 
language  of  the  journal  would  imply. 

The  Rev.  William  Stith,  author  of  the  History  of  Virginia,  was  a 
nephew  of  Sir  John  Randolpli,  one  of  the  original  patentees  of  Bever- 
ley's Manor.  In  173S  he  became  rector  of  Henrico  parish,  and  wrote 
his  history  in  1740  at  Varina,  a  seat  of  one  of  the  Randolph's  on  James 
river  below  Richmond.  From  1752  till  his  death,  in  1755,  he  was  presi- 
dent of  William  and  Mary  College. 


THE  EXPEDITION  TO  GUILFORD  C.   H. 


A  brief  account  is  given  on  pages  179  and  180  of  the  expedition  of 
the  Augusta  and  Rockbridge  men  to  North  Carolina,  and  of  the  battle 
of  Guilford  C.  H..  in  1781.  Among  the  militiamen  from  Rockbridge 
was  Samuel  Houston,  afterward  for  many  years  a  highly  esteemed 
Presbyterian  minister.  He  was  twenty-three  years  of  age  and  a  student 
of  di\'inity  when  the  call  came  for  the  militia  to  go  to  the  assistance  of 
General  Greene,  who  was  hard  pressed  by  the  British  under  Corn- 
wallis.  Laying  aside  his  books,  he  fell  into  the  ranks  of  the  Rock- 
bridge company,  and  had  Archibald  Stuart,  afterward  the  Judge,  as 
his  messmate. 

Mr.  Houston  kept  a  diary  of  the  trip,  writing  every  day,  except  one, 
from  his  departure  till  his  return,  which  is  published   in  full  in  the 
Second  Series  of  Foote's  Sketches  oj  Virginia.     It  is  provoking  for  its 
brevity  and  omission  of  much  that  would  now  be  interesting,  but  con 
tains  some  items  worth  reproducing. 

The  Rockbridge  company  marched  from  Lexington  to  Grigsby's  on 
Monday,  February  26th.  The  next  day  they  marched  fifteen  miles,  and 
encamped  at  Purgatory,  near  Buchanan,  in  Botetourt  county.  On  the 
ist  day  of  March  the  distance  made  was  seventeen  miles.  "  Drew 
liquor  in  the  morning,"' says  Mr.  Houston,  and  •' I  paid  fifteen  dollars 
for  beer  to  Mrs.  Breckinridge."  This  lady  was  doubtless  the  widow  of 
Colonel  Robert  Breckinridge  vvlio  removed  from  Staunton  to  Bote- 
tourt in  1769.  The  incident  mentioned  shows  that  the  best  women  of 
the  time  were  not  above  gaining  money  by  any  honest  means.  No 
doubt  there  was  need  of  economy  and  thrift.     But  the  question  arises, 


472  SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE 

did  young  Houston  consume  $15  worth  of  beer  himself?  Perhaps  he 
did,  as  the  currency  was  almost  worthless,  like  Confederate  money  at 
the  close  of  the  late  war. 

Apparently,  the  command  was  in  no  hurry  to  reach  the  enemy. 
Imagine  Stonewall  Jackson  marching  fifteen  miles  one  day  and  twelve 
the  next,  while  on  his  way  to  reinforce  General  Lee!  On  Sabbath, 
March  the  4th,  however,  the  day's  march  was  twenty  miles,  to  a  point 
beyond  New  London.  This  day  "  we  pressed  a  hog,  which  was  served 
without  scraping."  The  word  "  pressed,"  so  familiar  to  Confederate 
soldiers,  is  therefore  as  old  as  the  Revolution. 

The  night  of  the  4th  was  spent  at  a  Major  Ward's,  and  on  the  next  day 
the  command  crossed  Staunton  river,  into  Pittsylvania,  and  marched 
eight  miles.  On  the  6th  they  advanced  fourteen  miles,  when  Major 
Ward  overtook  them,  with  a  complaint  that  some  of  his  personal  pro- 
perty had  disappeared.  "We  were  searched,"  says  the  diary,  "  and 
Mr.  Ward's  goods  found  with  James  Berry  and  John  Harris,  who  were 
whipped.  (!)  The  same  were  condemned  to  ten  lashes  for  disobeying 
the  officer  of  the  day  on  Monday."  Harris  deserted  on  the  7th,  and 
Berry  was  arrested  and  sent  to  prison. 

The  Dan  river  was  crossed  on  the  Sth  "At  this  river  some  mean 
cowards  threatened  to  return.  This  morning,"  (the  9th,)  "  Lyle,  Hays 
and  Lusk  went  to  General  Greene  and  returned.  The  same  day  deserted 
Geo.  Culwell." 

The  headquarters  of  General  Greene's  army  was  reached  Saturday 
night,  the  loth,  and  the  battle  of  Guilford  was  fought  on  Thursday, 
March  15th.  Colonel  McDowell's  battalion  of  Augusta  and  Rockbridge 
militia  composed  a  part  of  General  Stephen's  brigade.  The  men  were 
ordered  to  "take  trees,"  which  they  did  with  alacrity,  many,  however, 
crowding  to  one  tree.  The  close  firing  began  near  the  centre, -but  soon 
extended  along  the  line.  During  the  battle,  which  lasted  two  hours 
and  twenty-five  minutes,  Mr.  Houston  discharged  his  rifle  fourteen 
times.  He  says,  "our  brigade  Major,  Mr.  Williams,  fled."  For  some 
time  the  militia  displayed  great  bravery ;  they  repulsed  the  enemy 
several  times,  and  after  advancing  fell  back,  when  compelled,  in  good 
order.  Finally  they  were  assailed  by  the  British  light  horse,  "  were 
obliged  to  run,  and  many  were  sore  chased  and  some  were  cut  down." 
Major  Stuart  was  captured  and  Captain  Tate  killed.  Eight  or  ten  mar- 
ried men  of  the  Bethel  church  neighborhood  were  among  the  slain. 
The  men  "all  scattered,"  but  soon  came  together,  and  with  Captain 
MoflTett  and  other  officers  retreated  fourteen  miles.  The  following 
night,  "  through  darkness  and  rain  and  want  of  provisions  we  were  in 
distress.     Some  parched  a  little  corn." 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  i6th,  the  men  were  "decamped,  and 
marched  through  the  rain  till  we  arrived  at  Speedwell  furnace,  where 
Greene  had  retreated  from  Guilford  town."  There  "  we  met  many  of 
our  company  with  great  joy,  particularly  Colonel  McDowell."     Other 


ANNALS  OF  AUGUSTA  COUNTY.  473 

men  given  up  for  lost  also  came  in.  In  the  evening  "  orders  were  read 
to  draw  provisions  and  ammunition,  to  be  in  readiness,  which  struck  a 
panic  on  the  minds  of  many." 

The  ne.xt  day  the  men  discussed  the  matter  of  returning  home,  plead- 
ing want  of  blankets  and  clotiiing.  "Many  went  oft";  a  few  were 
remaining  when  General  Lawson  came  and  raged  very  much  ;  and 
about  ten  o'clock  all  but  McDowell  came  off." 

Dan  river  was  re-crossed  on  the  iSth.  "A  little  afterward  many  went 
to  a  tavern,  where  some  got  drunk  and  quarreled."  On  the  21st.  "  we 
paid  Murphy  one  dollar  a  man  for  horses  to  carry  us  over  Goose  Creek." 
On  the  22d,  "  my  brother  and  I  hired  Mr.  Rountree's  horses,  and  his  son 
came  with  us  to  Mr.  Lambert's,  when,  after  he  received  forty-three 
dollars,  he  returned.  We  eat  with  Mr.  Lambert  and  paid  him  ten  dol- 
lars each.  I  bought  five  books  from  him  and  paid  him  four  hundred 
and  twelve  dollars  and  a  half.  We  crossed  the  mountains,  and  in  the 
valley  saw  the  wonderful!  mill  without  wheels,  doors  or  fioors."  On 
Friday,  March  23d,  Mr.  Houston  arrived  at  his  brother  William's,  and 
there  the  diary  ended. 

We  are  accustomed  to  think  of  the  men  of  the  Revolutionary  period 
as  all  heroes  panting  for  the  fray,  and  patriots  ready  to  make  any  sac- 
rifice for  the  cause  of  their  country.  Here  we  see  they  were  very  much 
like  other  people.  The  men  who  composed  Colonel  McDowell's  bat- 
talion were,  most  of  tnem,  worthy  citizens,  of  fully  average  courage 
and  public  spirit.  But  they  were  hastily  levied,  untrained,  and  easily 
demoralized.  However  brave  each  man  might  be,  he  could  not  rely 
with  certainty  on  the  support  of  his  neighbors  in  the  ranks,  and  there- 
fore provided  for  his  own  safety  according  to  his  best  judgment.  So 
raw  militia  have  nearly  always  acted,  and  nearly  always  will. 

"The  second  day  after  the  battle,"  says  Foote,  "when  they  must 
either  march  further  in  pursuit  of  Cornwallis  or  return  home,  they  all, 
in  face  of  their  Colonel  marched  oft'  home.  Some,  both  of  the  Caro- 
lina and  the  Virginia  militia,  fled  from  the  battle-ground  on  the  15th, 
and  never  rested  till  they  reached  their  homes.  Some  of  the  \'irginia 
men  that  fled  thus,  in  the  fear  lest  they  should  be  called  to  account  for 
their  flight,  retreated  into  the  western  ridges  of  the  Alleghany,  and 
even  to  old  age  dreaded  the  approach  of  a  stranger,  as  perhaps  an 
officer  for  their  arrest  for  desertion." 


Woods's  Gap  (see  pages  16  and  386),  now  called  Jarman's  Gap,  is 
seven  miles  north  of  Rockfish  Gap.  Two  of  Michael  Woods's  sons  in- 
law were  Peter  and  William  Wallace,  and  the  third  was  John  McDowell. 
(See  page  31.)  Samuel  Wallace,  son  of  Peter,  removed  to  the  Caldwell 
settlement,  now  Charlotte  county,  married  Esther  Baker,  and  was  the 
father  of  the  distinguished  Caleb  Wallace,  born  in  174I. 


474  SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE 


JOHN  SEVIER. 


Among  the  natives  of  Augusta  county  who  achieved  distinction 
abroad,  General  John  Sevier,  of  Tennessee,  is  entitled  to  a  prominent 
place. 

The  grandfather  of  John  Sevier,  or  Xavier,  as  originally  written,  was 
a  native  of  France  and  a  Huguenot.  On  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantes,  he  Med  to  London,  and  became  a  prosperous  merchant  there. 
His  son  Valentine  came  to  America,  and  settled  in  our  Valley,  in  the 
year  1740,  it  is  said.  Various  deeds  of  record  show  that  he  "took  up," 
or  otherwise  acquired,  several  tracts  of  land  in  Augusta.  In  1753  he 
and  his  wife,  Joannah,  conveyed  to  Andrew  Bird  a  tract  lying  between 
Limestone  Ridge  and  Smith's  Creek,  now  in  Rockingham  county. 
Peter  Scholl  was  one  of  the  witnesses  to  the  deed.  Some  ten  years 
afterward  he  appears  to  have  left  the  county  temporarily,  as,  in  1763, 
he  sold  a  variety  of  personal  property  to  Andrew  Bird,  and  described 
himself  in  the  bill  of  sale  as  a  farmer  of  Frederick  county.  He,  how- 
ever, did  not  remain  away  long,  and  in  October,  1765,  being  then  a  resi- 
dent of  Augusta,  conveyed  to  George  Shumaker  310  acres  lying  "on 
the  south  side  of  the  North  river  of  the  Shandore,  adjoining  Benjamin 
Borden's  land."  Among  the  witnesses  to  this  deed  was  John  Grattan. 
On  the  i7th  of  October,  1769,  he  conveyed  to  Thomas  Reeves  two 
tracts,  one  of  them,  304  acres,  on  the  northwest  side  of  Long  Meadow. 

It  is  probable  that  in  the  fall  of  1769,  Valentine  Sevier  went  to  the 
Holston,  along  with  the  Campbells,  Logan,  Knox  and  others.  The 
Campbells  settled  in  what  is  now  Washington  county,  Virginia,  but 
Sevier  went  on  into  East  Tennessee,  then  a  part  of  North  Carolina. 

John  Sevier,  son  of  Valentine,  was  born  in  1745,  and  probably  on 
Smith's  Creek.  He  was  sent  to  school  in  Fredericksburg,  but,  accord- 
ing to  his  biographer,  was  married  when  only  seventeen  years  of  age. 
In  the  new  settlement  on  the  Holston  he  soon  acquired  prominence. 
He  was  better  educated  than  most  of  the  people,  and  a  fluent  and 
efifective  speaker.  It  is  said  that  he  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Point 
Pleasant,  October  10, 1774,  but  in  what  capacity  is  not  known,  probably 
as  an  officer  in  Captain  Evan  Shelby's  company.  In  1777  he  was  ap- 
pointed judge  and  administered  all  the  functions  of  government  in 
''Washington  District,"  as  the  region  where  he  lived  was  called.  As 
Colonel  of  the  mountain  men,  he  commanded  in  many  fights  with  the 
Indians.  At  the  head  of  a  regiment  hastily  raised  by  him  he  helped 
to  win  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain,  on  the  7th  of  October,  1780. 
Thus  two  Augusta-born  men,  Sevier  and  Campbell,  were  leaders  in 
that  celebrated  engagement. 

The  people  of  the  district  west  of  the  mountains  complained  that 
they  were  neglected  by  North  Carolina,  and  a  few  years  after  the  Revo- 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  475 

lutionary  war  undertook,  in  an  irregular  way,  to  constitute  a  Slate  gov- 
ernment and  apply  (or  admission  into  the  Union  Sevier  was  a  leader 
in  the  movement.  They  called  the  new  State  F"ranklin.  One  of  the 
first  acts  of  the  Territorial  Convention  or  Legislature  was  in  regard  to 
the  currency.  As  there  was  little  money  in  the  country,  the  act  pre- 
scribed that  a  pound  of  sugar  should  pass  for  a  shilling,  the  skin  of  a 
raccoon  or  fox  for  a  shilling  and  threepence,  a  beaver,  deer  or  otter 
skin  for  six  shillings,  etc.  The  salaries  of  all  public  officers  were  to  be 
paid  in  this  kind  of  currency.  But  even  a  portion  of  this  currency  was 
counterfeited,  bundles  of  supposed  otter  skins  turning  out  to  be  skins 
of  raccoons  with  otter  tails  attached  to  them. 

Sevier  was  made  Governor  of  Franklin.  All  connection  with  North 
Carolina  was  renounced.  The  people  proposed  to  join  the  Union  as  a 
State,  if  admitted  by  Congress ;  otherwise  they  would  set  up  as  one 
of  the  independent  nations  of  the  world. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  Houston,  a  native  of  Rockbridge,  who  returned  to 
his  native  county  and  spent  a  long  life  there,  was  then  residing  in  East 
Tennessee,  and  actively  participated  in  the  political  movements  men- 
tioned. Very  likely  at  his  instigation,  the  Rev.  William  Graham,  of 
Liberty  Hall,  Lexington,  an  able  but  visionary  man,  undertook  to  write 
a  constitution  for  the  vState  of  Franklin,  contemplating  a  sort  of  theo- 
cratic government.  Neither  he  nor  Mr.  Houston  gained  popularity 
thereby,  and  both  were  burnt  in  effigy  by  a  mob  in  Franklin. 

North  Carolina,  however,  asserted  her  lawful  jurisdiction  over  the 
territory,  and  for  a  time  something  like  civil  war  existed.  In  the  mean- 
while the  Indians  became  hostile,  but  Sevier,  with  his  usual  prompt- 
ness and  skill,  at  the  head  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  men,  attacked 
three  Indian  towns  and  arrested  the  trouble.  But  North  Carolina  was 
too  strong  for  Franklin,  and  triumphed  in  the  contest.  Sevier  was 
declared  a  traitor,  and  a  warrant  for  his  arrest  was  issued.  He  con- 
tinued to  show  himself  in  the  settlements,  and  even  appeared  at  a 
militia  muster  at  Jonesboro.  That  night,  however,  he  was  seized  and 
hurried  to  jail  at  Morganton,  in  North  Carolina.  When  brought  out  for 
trial,  he  was  rescued  by  friends  in  a  crowded  court-room,  and  departed 
for  his  home.  Among  the  spectators  of  the  scene  was  Andrew  Jackson, 
then  a  youth  of  twenty-one 

The  next  year  Sevier  was  elected  to  the  North  Carolina  Senate,  took 
his  seat,  was  formally  pardoned,  and,  in  1790,  was  elected  to  Congress. 
When  Tennessee  became  a  State,  in  1796,  he  was  elected  the  first 
Governor,  and  held  the  office  for  three  consecutive  terms.  In  1S03,  he 
was  again  elected  Governor,  and  again  served  for  three  terms.  From 
1811  to  1S15  he  was  a  member  of  the  United  .States  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. While  acting  as  United  .States  Commissioner  to  settle  the 
boundary  line  between  Georgia  and  the  territory  of  the  Creek  Indians, 
he  died  m  Georgia,  in  1815. 

A  monument  has  been  erected  to  Sevier  in  Nashville,  and  his  remains 


476  SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE 

were  lately  brought  from  Georgia  and  interred  there.  He  has  been 
described  as  "  a  man  of  dauntless  courage  and  iron  will,  quick  to  think, 
quick  to  act,  and  a  natural-born  ruler  of  men."  His  nephew,  Ambrose 
H.  Sevier,  was  United  States  Senator  from  Arkansas,  from  1836  to 
1848.  The  Lieutenant  Sevier  who  was  married  in  Staunton,  in  1S07 
(see  page  220),  was  his  son. 


William  Poage,  of  Kentuckj',  of  whom  some  account  is  given  in 
Collins's  History  of  Kentucky,  is  believed  to  be  the  William  Poage,  son 
of  Robert,  mentioned  on  page  445. 

In  company  with  Daniel  Boone,  Richard  Calloway  and  John  Barney 
Stagner,  William  Poage  and  his  family  settled  at  Boonesborough,  Ken- 
tucky, about  September,  1775.  In  February,  1776,  he  removed  his 
family  to  the  fort  at  Harrodsburg,  and  in  the  spring  of  that  year  cleared 
ground  and  planted  corn  two  miles  from  the  fort.  He  had  great  me- 
chanical skill,  and  during  more  than  two  years  made  all  the  wooden 
vessels  used  by  the  people  in  the  fort.  He  also  made  the  wood-work 
of  the  first  plow  used  in  Kentucky  and  the  first  loom  on  which  weaving 
was  done  in  that  State. 

On  September  i,  1778,  a  company  of  sixteen  men,  including  Poage, 
going  to  Logan's  station,  was  fired  upon  by  a  party  of  Indians  in  ambush 
near  where  Danville  now  stands.  Poage  was  wounded  by  three  balls, 
but  his  companions  escaped  unhurt.  The  next  day  two  parties  were 
sent  in  search  of  the  wounded  man,  who  had  clung  to  his  horse  till  he 
came  to  a  canebrake,  where  he  hid  until  he  heard  his  friends  passing 
near.  They  carried  him  to  an  abandoned  cabin  near  the  site  of  Dan- 
ville, and  stopped  there  for  the  night.  The  Indians  tracked  them  to  the 
place,  surrounded  the  cabin  and  waited  till  morning  to  make  an  attack. 
But  the  whites  discovered  them  in  time,  sallied  out,  and  killed  four  of 
the  savages,  one  of  whom  had  Poage's  gun.  Poage  was  supported  on 
a  horse  and  thus  reached  home,  but  died  the  next  day.  The  recap- 
tured gun  was  given  to  Poage's  son,  then  twelve  years  of  age,  after- 
wards General  Robert  Poage,  of  Mason  county,  Kentucky. 

The  maiden  name  of  William  Poage's  wife  was  Ann  Kennedy.  She 
is  presumed  to  have  been  a  native  of  Augusta.  In  1750,  Joseph  Ken- 
nedy bought  a  lot  in  Staunton  (see  page  46),  and  the  deed-books  show 
that  he  owned  various  tracts  of  land  in  the  county.  One  of  the  spurs 
of  the  Blue  Ridge  is  still  called  Kennedy's  mountain.  In  1784,  a  citi- 
zen of  the  county,  named  Matthew  Kennedy,  died  intestate,  and  he  may 
have  been  Mrs.  Poage's  father  or  brother.  A  prominent  item  of  the 
inventory  of  his  estate  is  "30  pair  of  spectacles,"  which  is  suggestive  of 
Moses  Primrose  and  his  famous  speculation  ;  but  the  deceased  was  pro- 
bably a  merchant  or  peddler,  as  the  list  embraces  also  pins,  needles, 
scissors,  brass  thimbles,  razors,  inkhorns,  snuff-boxes,  etc.     His  library 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  477 

consisted  of  a  Bible,  Confesj,ion  of  Faith,  Huston's  Four-fold  Slate  and 
Hervey's  Meditations.  The  administrator's  sale  occurred  on  October 
7,  17S4,  and  one  of  the  principal  purchasers  was  a  Martha  Kennedy, 
but  who  she  was  does  not  appear. 

.Mrs.  Poage  was  married  four  times.  Her  first  husband  was  a  Wilson, 
and  Poage  was  the  second.  After  the  death  of  the  latter,  she  married 
Joseph  Lindsey,  who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  13lue  Licks,  in  17S2, 
and  finally  she  married  James  McGinty.  She  was  a  woman  of  rare 
energy  and  ingenuity.  Collins  says  she  brought  the  first  spinning-wheel 
to  Kentucky,  and  made  the  first  linen  manufactured  in  that  country, 
from  the  lint  of  nettles,  and  the  first  linsey  from  nettle-lint  and  buffalo 
wool. 


Old  and  New  Stvles."— The  writer  must  relieve  the  first  clerk  of 
the  county  court  of  Augusta  of  the  charge  of  blundering  in  respect  to 
dates,  made  against  him  in  the  Preface  and  also  on  page  29.  The  first 
term  of  the  court  began  on  December  9,  1745,  and  the  record  book 
states  that  the  ne.xt  term  began  on  February  11,  1745.  This  apparent 
error  is  thus  explained  :  Until  1752,  the  English  year  began  on  the 
25th  of  March,  and  consequently  January,  February  and  March  (up  to 
the  25th)  belonged  to  the  same  year  as  the  preceding  December. 
The  year  1745  continued  till  March  :^5th,  and  then  the  year  1746 
began.  France  and  Scotland  adopted  the  first  of  January  as  the  begin- 
ning of  the  year  much  earlier  than  England,  and,  therefore,  in  the 
latter  country,  before  the  change  was  sanctioned  by  act  of  Parliament, 
dates  falling  between  January  ist  and  March  25th,  were  commonly  ex- 
pressed thus:  February  10,  i745-'6,  the  last  figure  indicating  the  year 
according  to  the  present  reckoning. 


Gilbert  Christian  with  his  wife,  three  sons — John,  Robert  and 
William — and  a  daughter,  .Mary,  landed  at  Newcastle,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1726,  and  in  1732  removed  to  a  spot  near  the  site  of  Staunton,  on  Chris- 
tian's Creek,  giving  his  name  to  that  stream.  John  Christian  was  a 
prominent  citizen,  and  is  mentioned  on  pages  21,  22,  26  and  32.  Robert 
married  Isabella  Tiffins,  of  the  lower  valley,  and  is  the  ancestor  of  the 
Christians  now  living  in  the  county.  William  is  presumed  to  be  the 
Captain  William  Christian  mentioned  on  page  90.  Mary  Christian  mar- 
ried, first,  John  Moffett,  and  secondly,  John  Trimble.  (See  pages  191 
and  40S). 

Israel  Christian  (see  page  142)  is  believed  to  have  been  a  nephew  of 
•Gilbert.  He  came  to  Augusta  in  1740,  and  was  a  prosperous  merchant 
at  Staunton  for  some  years. 


478  SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE 


BETSY  AND  SALLY  HENRY. 


A  little  girl  named  Betsy  Henry,  while  living  with  her  family  in  Penn- 
sylvania, was  captured  by  Indians  and  taken  west  of  the  Ohio  river,  at 
what  date  is  not  known.  Afterward  her  mother  and  brothers  removed 
to  Augusta  county  and  settled  on  a  farm  near  the  present  station  of 
Spotswood,  Valley  Railroad.  When  the  Henrys  came  to  Augusta  no 
one  can  tell.  A  William  Henry  was  living  in  the  county  in  1750,  when 
he  became  guardian  of  one  James  McCord.  This  is  the  earliest  men- 
tion of  the  name  Henry  in  the  records  of  the  county.  James  Henry 
resided  here  in  1759,  ^"^  in  that  year  conveyed  200  acres  of  land  in 
Borden's  tract  to  Robert  Telford.  There  is  no  deed  on  record  to  show 
when  he  acquired  the  land. 

Betsy  Henry  grew  up  amongst  the  Indians  and,  being  treated  kindly, 
became  strongly  attached  to  them.  This  was  not  uncommon.  The 
Indians,  although  cruel  in  war,  were  not  without  some  good  traits,  and 
certainly  had  the  art  of  winning  the  love  of  their  juvenile  captives. 
This  young  girl,  on  arriving  at  womanhood,  became  the  wife  of  a  young 
chief  of  the  Delawares  who  is  said  to  have  been  a  half-breed  French 
and  Indian.  We  have  no  particular  account  of  him,  but  Judging  from 
such  hints  as  have  come  down  to  us,  he  was  probably  an  Indian  of  the 
same  characteristics  as  Logan  and  Tecumseh. 

At  length  the  time  arrived  for  Betsy  Henry's  return  to  civilized  life. 
According  to  one  version  of  the  story,  it  was  after  the  defeat  of  the  In- 
dians by  Wayne,  in  1794,  that  she  came  with  her  husband  and  others  to 
Fort  Pitt — where,  by  treaty,  all  white  prisoners  were  to  be  delivered 
up — having  lived  with  the  Indians  fourteen  years.  The  time,  however, 
must  have  been  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  earlier  than  1794,  and  proba- 
bly was  after  Bouquet's  treaty  of  1764 — possibly  several  years  after,  as 
some  of  the  captives  did  not  return  till  1767  (see  page  125).  Whenever 
it  was,  James  Henry,  Betsy's  brother,  was  at  the  rendezvous  to  meet 
her.  She  refused  to  leave  her  Indian  associates.  Her  brother,  however, 
represented  that  her  mother  could  not  die  in  peace  without  seeing  her, 
and  she  finally  consented  to  come  on  a  visit,  he  promising  to  take  her 
back.  One  tradition  is  that  she  brought  with  her  a  female  child  six 
weeks  old  ;  another,  that  the  child  was  born  soon  after  her  return. 

James  Henry  did  not  comply  with  his  promise,  if  he  made  one,  and 
the  unfortunate  woman  grieved  till  she  died.  Her  husband  had  not 
forgotten  her.  The  attachment  between  them  is  said  to  have  been 
mutual  and  ardent.  As  she  did  not  return  to  him,  he  came  in  search  of 
her  to  escort  her  back  to  her  wilderness  home.  But  her  brothers  de- 
tained her.  and  the  chief  left  with  the  declared  intention  of  resigning 
the  office  he  held  in  his  tribe  and  returning  to  reside  among  the  whites.' 
An  Indian  could  give  no  stronger  proof  of  attachment  to  his  wife.     He 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  479 

was  not  heard  of  afterwards,  and  it  was  suspected  that  his  wife's 
brothers  pursued  and  killed  him.  If  they  did  we  should  not  judge 
their  act  by  our  present  standard.  The  dreadful  Indian  wars  had  just 
ended,  during  which  every  white  man  had  learned  to  regard  the  Indians 
as  foes  to  be  ruthlessly  exterminated  like  wild  beasts.  When,  therefore, 
the  question  seemed  to  be  whether  a  sister  or  an  Indian  should  be  sac- 
rificed, it  is  not  surprising  that  the  latter  alternative  was  chosen. 

The  child  of  Betsy  Henry,  called  Sally  Henry,  was  reared  by  her 
Uncle  James.  She  became  the  wife  of  William  Alexander,  son  of  the 
William  Alexander  mentioned  at  the  foot  of  page  416  (who  died  in 
1829),  and  grandson  of  Robert  Alexander,  the  first  classical  teacher  in 
the  Valley.  William  Alexander  and  Sally  Henry  were  married  by  the 
Rev.  John  Brown,  November  23,  1793,  as  shown  by  the  public  register  of 
marriages,  and  of  course,  therefore,  the  return  of  Betsy  Henry  with  her 
infant  was  much  earlier  than  1794.  Many  of  the  descendants  of  William 
and  Sally  Henry  Alexander  are  among  the  most  respectable  people  of 
the  Valley  and  elsewhere. 


jNIurder  of  Joseph  Bell  and  his  Wife.— Thomas  Bell,  of  Green- 
brier, the  oldest  survivor  of  the  "  Stone  Church  Bells,'"  a  son  of  Joseph 
Bell,  of  Rockbridge,  gives  the  following  account  of  the  murder  of  the 
ancestor  of  that  family  and  his  wife,  which  is  briefly  mentioned  on  page 
431.  The  old  couple,  Joseph  Bell  and  wife,  were  sitting  in  their  dwell- 
ing on  a  certain  day — not  Sunday — their  only  son,  also  named  Joseph, 
having  gone  to  a  blacksmith's  shop;  but  two  female  white  servants 
being  present.  A  white  male  "  indentured"  servant  also  belonged  to 
the  family,  and  wished  to  marry  one  of  the  females  referred  to,  but 
Mrs.  Bell  opposed  the  match  on  account  of  the  bad  character  of  the 
man,  and  thus  incurred  his  ill-will.  This  man  came  in  from  a  field  on 
the  day  referred  to,  saying  that  he  had  finished  his  work.  Mrs.  Bell 
was  spinning  fine  flax,  and  the  man  enquired  what  she  proposed  to 
make.  She  replied  that  she  intended  to  weave  linen  grave-clothes  for 
her  husband  and  herself,  if  she  lived  long  enough.  "  Do  you  think 
you  will  live  long  enough  ?"  said  the  man.  and,  remarking  that  he 
would  go  out  and  kill  a  squirrel,  took  down  the  gun.  Going  to  the 
door,  he  turned  and  fired  at  Mrs.  Bell,  mortally  wounding  her  and  in- 
stantly killing  her  husband.  Mrs.  Bell  died  the  next  day.  The  man 
fled  and  was  never  captured. 


Ephrai.m  McDowell,  when  only  sixteen  years  of  age,  was  one  of 
the  defenders  of  Londonderry.  He  lived  to  be  over  one  hundred  years 
old.    (See  page  16.) 


480  SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE 


THE  MONTGOMERYS. 


In  the  year  176S  William  Montgomery  resided  in  Augusta  county,  but 
in  wiiat  neighborhood  we  do  not  know.  On  the  14th  of  May  of  that 
year  he  received  from  Michael  Malls  a  deed  for  470  acres  of  land  lying 
on  "  the  mountain  between  the  South  Fork  and  the  South  Branch  of 
Potowmack."  He  may  have  been,  and  probably  was,  an  uncle  of  the 
Rev.  John  Montgomery  an,d  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Doak's  wife  (see  pages  1S5 
and  192). 

On  the  15th  of  August,  1769,  William  Montgomery  and  Jean,  his  wife, 
conveyed  the  tract  of  470  acres  to  Adam  Harpole  in  consideration  of 
^82  {S273.33>^j,  and  soon  thereafter  removed  with  the  Campbells, 
Logans,  and  others  to  the  Holston,  now  Washington  county.  In  the 
new  settlement  young  Benjamin  Logan  wooed  and  married  Mont- 
gomery's daughter  Anne.  As  stated  on  page  404,  Logan  moved  to  Ken- 
tucky and  soon  became  famous  there.  His  father-in  law  with  his  family, 
including  the  family  of  Montgomery's  son-in-law,  Joseph  Russell,  fol- 
lowed Logan  to  Kentucky  in  1779  and  made  a  settlement  twelve  miles 
from  "  Logan's  Fort."  Early  one  morning  in  March,  1780,  Montgomery, 
on  going  to  the  door  of  his  cabin,  was  shot  and  killed  by  Indians,  as  was 
a  negro  boy  by  his  side.  Mrs.  Montgomery  and  her  youngest  child  were 
at  Logan's,  and  her  sons  Thomas  and  Robert,  were  absent  "spying." 
Her  daughter  Jane  managed  to  close  the  door  and  keep  out  the  sav- 
ages, while  William,  a  brother  of  Jane,  who  lived  in  an  adjoining  cabin, 
firing  his  gun  through  an  opening,  killed  one  Indian  and  wounded 
another.  John,  another  brother,  was  shot  dead  in  his  bed.  While  this 
was  going  on,  Betsy  Montgomery,  .some  twelve  years  of  age,  climbed 
out  of  a  chimney  and  fled  to  Pettit's  Station,  two  and  a  half  miles  off, 
with  the  news  of  the  assault  Though  pursued  by  an  Indian,  she  arrived 
in  safety.  All  the  survivors  of  the  family  then  at  home,  except  young 
William  and  Jane  Montgomery,  were  marched  off  by  the  Indians  as 
prisoners.  The  savage  who  had  pursued  Betsy  returned  after  his  com- 
rades had  left  and  was  shot  by  William  from  his  cabin. 

From  Pettit's  the  news  was  speeded  to  Logan's  Fort.  There  the  horn 
was  sounded,  and  a  band  of  twelve  or  fifteen  men  was  soon  on  the 
trail  of  the  Indians.  A  negro  girl  found  by  the  pursuers,  tomahawked, 
scalped  and  left  for  dead,  sprang  to  her  feet  and  survived  her  wounds. 
The  Indians  fled  when  overtaken,  but  not  without  heavy  loss.  A 
touching  incident  occurred  at  the  moment  of  the  assault.  One  of  the 
Russell  girls  hearing  Logan's  voice  exclaimed  :  "  There's  Uncle  Ben !  " 
and  instantly  an  Indian  despatched  her  with  his  tomahawk.  (Collins' 
History  of  Kentucky). 

The  Jane  Montgomery  mentioned  became  the  wife  of  General  Casey, 


ANNALS  OF  AUGUSTA  COUNTY.  481 

of  Kentucky,  and  was  the  grandmother  of  the  famous  humorist  "  Mark 
Twain."    {Green). 

Jane  Logan,  the  oldest  daughter  of  General    Henjamin   Logan,  was 
the  wife  of  Colonel  John  Allen.     (See  page  450). 


The  forlorn  condition  in  respect  to  costume  of  the  Virginia 
regiment  which  served  on  the  Hudson  in  1779,  as  related  on  page  172, 
was  not  unprecedented.  According  to  Shakespeare,  King  Henry  V 
described  the  equipment  of  his  soldiers  on  the  field  of  Agincourt  in 
almost  the  same  words.  He  is  represented  (Act  IV,  scene  3)  as  saying 
to  the  French  herald — 

Tell  the  Constable, 
We  are  but  warriors  of  the  working  day  ; 
Our  gayness  and  our  gilt  are  all  besmirched 
With  rainny  marching  in  the  painful  field  ; 
There's  not  a  piece  of  feather  in  our  host 
(Good  argument,  I  hope,  we  shall  not  fly,) 
And  time  hath  wotn  us  into  slovennv. 


Gabriel  Jones  resided  in  Frederick  county  till  1753,  when  he  removed 
to  his  estate  near  Port  Republic,  then  in  Augusta.  (See  pages  23  and 
393-)  ^^  are  informed  by  Thomas  M.  Green,  Esq.,  of  Maysville,  Ken- 
tucky, that  the  John  Lewis  who  married  Mr.  Jones's  daughter  Eliza- 
beth, was  not  the  lawyer  of  that  name,  but  a  merchant  of  Fredericks- 
burg, and  son  of  Colonel  Fielding  Lewis  by  his  first  wife,  who  was 
Catharine  Washington,  a  cousin  of  the  General.  This  John  Lewis  was 
married  five  times,  and  Miss  Jones  was  his  third  wife.  He  furnished 
to  General  Wilkinson  the  capital  for  his  trading  e.\pedition  down  the 
Mississippi. 


John  Preston  probably  lived,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  on  the  farm 
northeast  of  the  Institution  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  and  the  Blind,  owned 
in  18S9  by  Mr  Erskine  Miller.  After  his  death  his  widow  was  settled 
by  her  brother.  Colonel  Patton,  at  Spring  Farm.     (See  page  31.) 


Sampson  Mathews,  first  sheriff'  of  Bath  county  (see  page  202),  was 
Colonel  Sampson  Mathews,  previously  of  Augusta.  He  lived  for  a  time 
at,  or  near,  Cloverdale,  in  Bath,  but  returned  to  Staunton  and  died 
there. 


482  SUPPLEMENT   TO    THE 

A  CURIOUS  DOCUMENT. 


A  petition  to  Governor  Gooch  for  the  appointment  of  John  McDowell 
as  captain  of  militia,  is  one  of  the  ''Curiosities  of  Literature,"  and  we 
give  an  exact  copy  of  it  from  Palmer's  Calendar  of  State  Papers  of 
Virginia.  It  is  dated  July  30,  1742.  John  McDowell  was  killed  in 
December,  1742  (see  page  31),  and  therefore  held  his  command  only  a 
few  months.     The  paper  is  as  follows  : 

"To  the  Honorable,  William  Gooch  Esqr  His  Majestys'  Lieut:  Gover- 
nor &c  &c — 
"Sr 

"We  your  pittionours  humbly  sheweth  that  we  your  Honours  Loly 
and  Dutifull  Subganckes  hath  ventred  our  Lives  &  all  that  we  have  In 
fettling  ye  back  parts  of  Virginia  which  was  a  veri  Great  Hassirt  & 
Dengrous,  for  it  is  the  Hathins  (heathens)  Road  to  ware,  which  has 
proved  hortfull  to  feveril  of  ous  that  were  ye  first  fettlers  of  these  back 
woods  &  wee  your  Honibill  pittionors  fome  time  a  goo  pittioned  your 
Honnour  for  to  have  Commisioned  men  amungst  ous  which  we  your 
Honnours  moft  DuttifuU  fubjects  thought  properist  men  &  men  that 
had  Hart  and'Curidg  to  hed  us  yn  time  of &  to  defend  your  Con- 
tray  and  your  poor  Sobgacks  Intrist  from  ye  voilince  of  ye  Haithen — 
But  yet  agine  we  Humbly  perfume  to  poot  your  Honnour  yn  mind  of  our 
Great  want  of  them  in  hopes  that  your  Honner  will  Grant  a  Captins' 
Commission  to  John  McDowell,  with  follring  ofishers,  and  your  Hon- 
nours' Complyence  in  this  will  be  great  fettisfiction  to  your  moft 
DuttifuU  and  Humbil  pittioners — and  we  as  in  Duty  bond  shall  Ever 
pray." 

Among  the  signers  were  Andrew  and  David  Moore,  George  Moffett 
(written  "  Marfit,")  James  McDowell,  three  Andersons,  Matthew  Lyie 
(written  "Lyel,")  and  others.  David  Moore  was  the  father  of  General 
Andrew  Moore  and  Captain  William  Moore.  (See  pages  143  and  450). 
George  Moffett  was  no  doubt  the  person  of  whom  Ben  Borden  was  so 
much  afraid,  as  mentioned  on  page  385,  and  was  probably  an  uncle  of 
Colonel  George  Moffett.  He  evidently  did  not  subscribe  his  own 
name,  but  it  was  written  by  some  one  else  as  pronounced  by  the  natives 
of  the  old  country.  Very  likely  some  of  the  signers  were  among  the 
men  slain  with  John  McDowell. 


General  James  Knox. — A  family  named  Knox,  of  Irish  birth,  set- 
tled in  Augusta  county  at  an  early  day.  The  first  guardian's  bond 
recorded  in  the  county  was  that  of  James  Knox,   guardian  of  Jenny 


ANNALS  OF  AUGUSTA  COUNTY.  483 

Usher,  executed  February  ii,  1746  ("  New  Style.")  Tlie  sureties  were 
John  Brown  and  Andrew  Pickens.  On  the  13th  of  August,  1769,  Knox 
conveyed  to  Patrick  Miller  160  acres  of  land  lying  on  the  Cowpasture 
river,  and  this  and  other  circumstances  indicate  that  the  family  lived 
in  the  part  of  Augusta  which  is  now  embraced  in  Bath  county.  The 
death  of  James  Knox  occurred  in  1772.  In  his  will  he  mentions  his 
wife  Jean,  and  among  his  other  children  his  son  James.  The  younger 
James  Knox  seems  to  have  been  one  of  the  first  persons  who  removed 
from  the  more  thickly  settled  part  of  the  county  to  the  Holston.  There 
is  a  tradition  that  he  was  disappointed  in  a  love  affair,  having  been 
rejected  as  a  suitor  by  Anne  Montgomery,  who  married  Benjamin 
Logan.  As  early  as  1769  he  went  from  the  Holston  on  a  hunting  expe- 
dition to  Kentucky,  and  afterwards  settled  there.  He  was  a  soldier  in 
the  Revolution,  and  a  member  of  the  Kentucky  Legislature  from  1795 
to  1800.  In  Kentucky  he  was  known  as  General  Knox.  He  captured 
his  old  sweetheart  at  last,  marrying  her  after  the  death  of  General 
Logan.  He  survived  till  1822,  and  she  till  1825.  It  was  he  (and  not 
General  Henry  Knox,  Washington's  Secretary  of  War),  who  led  the 
party  of  Augusta  emigrants,  as  related  on  page  452. 


Judge  Coalter  was  married  four  times.  His  first  wife  was  a  Miss 
Rind,  and  his  second  Miss  Davenport,  both  of  whom  died  soon  after 
marriage,  without  children.  The  mother  of  his  children,  Judge  Tucker's 
daughter,  was  his  third  wife.    (See  page  221.) 


SUPPLEMENT  TO  ANNALS  OF  AUGUSTA  COUNTY.  485 


EARLY  SETTLEMENTS  IN  AUGUSTA. 


In  Vol.  I  of  Palmer's  Calendar  of  Viy_^inia  Stale  Papers,  we  find 
various  documents  throwing  some  light  upon  the  history  of  Augusta 
county,  and  from  them  make  the  following  extracts  : 

First,  in  regard  to  the  early  settlement  of  the  country.  In  1727, 
Robert  Lewis,  William  Lynn,  Robert  Brooke,  Jr.,  James  Mills,  William 
Lewis  and  Beverly  Robinson  petitioned  the  Governor  and  Council  as 
follows:  "That  your  Petitioners  have  been  at  great  Trouble  and 
Charges  in  making  Discoveries  of  Lands  among  the  Mountains,  and 
are  desirous  of  taking  up  some  of  those  Lands  they  have  discovered  ; 
wherefore  your  petitioners  humbly  pray  your  Honours  to  grant  him 
an  order  to  take  up  Fifty  Thousand  Acres,  in  one  or  more  tracts,  on 
the  head  branches  of  James  River  to  the  West  and  Northwestward  of 
the  Cow  Pasture,  on  seating  thereon  one  Family  for  every  Thousand 
Acres,  and  as  the  said  Lands  are  very  remote  and  lying  among  the 
great  North  Mountains,  being  about  Two  Hundred  Miles  at  least  from 
any  landing— Your  Petitioners  humbly  pray  Your  Honours  will  grant 
them  six  years'  time  to  seat  the  same." 

Whether  or  not  the  petition  was  granted  does  not  appear  ;  but  it 
shows  that  the  country  west  of  Staunton,  and  now  in  Bath  county,  had 
been  explored,  and  that  the  Cowpasture  river  was  known  and  named 
as  early  as  1727.  It  is  certain  that  white  people  located  in  that  region 
about  the  time,  or  soon  after,  settlements  were  made  immediately 
around  Staunton  in  1732.  The  explorers  no  doubt  came  up  the  valley 
of  James  River,  but  it  is  strange  they  did  not  ask  leave  to  take  up  some 
of  the  rich  lands  east  of  the  North  Mountain. 

Next,  we  find  a  letter  of  William  Beverley,  dated  April  30,  1732,  to 
a  person  whose  name  is  not  given,  but  probably  his  lawyer.  He  says  : 
"  I  am  persuaded  that  I  can  get  a  number  of  people  from  Pensilvania 
to  settle  on  Shenandore,  if  I  can  obtain  an  order  of  Council  for  some 
Land  there,  and  I  beg  ye  favour  of  you  to  get  me  an  order  at  the  first 
Council  held  after  you  receive  this,  for  fifteen  thousand  acres  of  Land, 
lying  on  both  sides  of  ye  main  River  of  Shenandore  to  include  an  old 
field  called  and  known  by  ye  name  of  '  Massanutting  Town,'  (an  Indian 
name),  and  running  back  and  above  and  below  the  same  on  ye  said 
river  to  include  the  Quantity  ;  ye  s'd  main  river  being  yt  which  runs  at 
ye  foot  of  the  great  ridge  of  mountains  commonly  called  the  blue 
ridge  and  being  those  we  know  in  this  Colony  by  ye  name  of  ye 
high  mountains  ;  and  because  I  would  not  have  a  dispute  with  any  body, 
or  endeavor  to  supplant  them,  I  desire  you  will  please  to  search  in  ye 
Council  Office,  whether  any  order,  now  in  force  has  been  granted  for 
the  said  Massannutcing,  and  if  there  has  not,  then  I  hope  I  shall  obtain 
my  desire  ;  for  ye  northern  men  are  fond  of  buying  land  there,  because 


486  SUPPLEMENT    TO   THE 

they  can  buy  it,  for  six  or  seven  pounds  pr.  hundred  acres,  cheaper 
than  they  can  take  up  land  in  pensilvania  and  they  don't  care  to  go  as 
far  as  Wmsburg."  He  goes  on  to  claim  the  land  by  right  of  discover v^ 
and  survey,  and  says  he  has  already  sold  some  of  the  land  "to  a  pen- 
silvania man  for  3  lbs.  of  their  money  pr.  hundred." 

But  a  colony  of  sturdy  "  Dutchmen  "  were  ahead  of  Mr.  Beverley, 
having  settled  several  years  before  near  "  Massanutting."  In  a  petition 
to  the  General  Court,  composed  of  the  Governor  and  Council,  in  1733, 
they  say  :  "That  about  four  years  past  they  purchased  five  thousand 
acres  of  land,  of  one  Jacob  Stover,  and  paid  him  a  great  Sum  of  Money 
for  the  same,  Amounting  to  Upwards  of  four  hundred  pounds  :  that 
y'r  petitioners  were  mformed  and  believed  the  s'd  Stover  had  a  good 
right  and  title  in  the  said  land  ;  that  immediately  after  the  s'd"  (pur- 
chase, they  sold)  "all  their  lands  and  sev'U  other  things  in  the  county 
of  I.ancaster  and  Province  of  Pensylvania,  where  they  then  lived,  and 
came  and  seated  on  the  land  they  had  bought  of  the  s'd  Stover  ;  and 
cleared  sev'l  Plantations  and  made  great  Improvements  thereon, — 
Since  which,  they  have  been  Informed  that  the  s'd  land  (known  by 
the  name  of  Massanutting)  is  claimed  by  one  Wm.  Beverly,  Gent. — and 
that  the  s'd  Beverly  hath  brought  suit  ag'st  the  s'd  Stover  for  the 
same,  in  the  Hon'ble  the  Generall  Court.  Y'r  Petitioners  further 
shew  that  should  the  s'd  Beverley  recover  the  said  land,  that  he  will 
turn  y'r  Pet'rs  out  of  Doors,  or  oblige  them  to  give  much  more  for 
their  lands  and  plantations  then  they  are  worth,  Which  will  intirely 
ruin  y'r  Pet'rs.  And  yo'r  Pet'rs  cannot  recover  anything  of  the  s'd 
Stover,  to  make  them  amends  for  the  Loss  of  their  s'd  lands,  planta- 
tions, etc.,  he  being  very  poor,  and  is  Daily  E.xpected  to  Run  away. 
Wherefore  y'r  Petitioners  humbly  hope  that  as  they  are  not  Privy  to 
any  fraud  done  by  the  s'd  Stover  in  obtaining  the  s'd  Land  and  yo'r 
pet'rs  being  Dutchmen  and  not  acquainted  with  the  laws  here  concern- 
ing lands,  and  Imagined  the  s'd  Stover's  right  to  be  good  and  have  run 
the  hazard  of  their  lives  and  estates  in  removing  from  Pensylvania  to 
the  s'd  land,  being  above  two  hundred  miles,  and  at  a  time  when  there 
were  very  few  Inhabitants  in  them  parts  of  Shenando,  and  they  fre- 
quently visited  by  Indians.  And  at  this  time  y'r  pet'rs  have  nine  Plan- 
tations fifty-one  people,  old  and  young,  thereon,  and  expect  to  have 
two  more  familys  to  seat  on  the  s'd  land  this  spring,  nor  did  y'r  pet'rs 
hear  of  the  s'd  Beverley's  claiming  the  said  land  till  they  had  made 
plantations  thereon. "  Among  the  petitioners  were  Milhart  Rangdmann, 
Matthew  Folk  and  Adam  Muller  (Miller?  see  p.  24).  Other  names  are 
illegible.  We  presume  that  Beverley's  claim  was  not  allowed  by  the 
court,  or  that  he  abandoned  it,  as  we  hear  nothing  more  of  it. 

All  this  shows  that  fifty-one  white  people  were  settled  on  nine  plan- 
tations on  the  Shenandoah,  near  the  Massanuttan  mountain,  in  1733; 
that  the  settlement  was  made  four  years  before,  in  1729 ;  and  that  pre- 
vious to  the  latter  date  there  were  some,  "  although  very  few, "  white 
inhabitants  there. 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  4S7 

For  more  than  twenty  years  after  the  first  settlement  of  the  Valley 
there  was  no  declared  war  between  the  Indians  and  whites,  but  the 
latter  were  constantly  annoyed  by  roving  bands  of  savages  who  helped 
themselves  to  whatever  movable  property  they  took  a  fancy  to,  and 
sometimes  burnt  the  cabins  of  settlers.  On  the  iSth  of  May,  1750,  Wil- 
liam Harbison,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  Augusta  county,  certified  tliat 
about  the  last  week  of  April,  1749,  a  party  of  seven  Indians  robbed  the 
house  of  Adam  Herman,  probably  on  New  River,  of  9  deer  skins  and 
I  elk  skin  ;  that  the  ne.xt  day  six  Indians  robbed  tlie  same  house  of  14 
deer  skins  and  i  elk  skin;  and  that  the  day  following,  "a  number  of 
Indians"  came  and  took  away  73  deer  skins,  6  elk  skins,  etc.,  etc. 
This  shows  also  that  game  was  abundant,  and  that  Herman  was  a 
famous  hunter. 


AUGUSTA  IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


In  January,  17S1,  a  British  force  under  Benedict  Arnold  invaded  Vir- 
ginia. They  sailed  up  James  River,  entered  Richmond  without  resist- 
ance, on  the  5th  of  January,  destroyed  all  the  public  stores  there  and 
some  private  property,  and  departed  down  the  river.  In  the  mean- 
while the  militia  had  been  called  out  by  Governor  Jefferson,  Baron 
Steuben  being  at  the  head  of  the  State  troops. 

From  the  Calendar,  &c..  Vol.  I,  we  learn  tnat  several  hundred  men 
from  Augusta  served  in  lower  Virginia  at  that  time.  There  is  no  other 
record  of  the  fact  that  we  know  of,  and  no  tradition  in  regard  to  it. 

Sampson  IMathews,  of  Staunton,  was  colonel  of  militia  in  Augusta, 
and  on  the  13th  wrote  to  the  Governor  that,  in  accordance  with  orders, 
he  would  start  to  Fredericksburg  early  the  next  morning  with  about 
250  men.  The  men  of  the  second  battalion  were  then  on  the  way,  and 
also  the  militia  from  Rockbridge  and  Rockingham.  Major  Posey,  of 
the  ist  regmient  ot  the  line,  a  recruiting  officer  at  Staunton,  was  to  go 
with  Col.  Mathews.  His  men  would  take  some  beef  cattle  from 
Augusta,  as  ordered. 

On  January  21st,  Col.  Mathews  wrote  to  the  Governor  from  Bowling 
Green,  in  Caroline  county,  where  he  was  with  his  command,  by  order 
of  Gen.  Muhlenburg,  having  been  at  Fredericksburg  four  days.  [He 
made  a  rapid  march,  starting  from  Staunton  on  the  14th,  spending  four 
days  in  Fredericksburg,  and  arriving  at  Bowling  Green  on  the  21st.] 
Col.  John  Bowyer,  with  about  220  men  from  Rockbridge,  joined  him 
that  morning.  Smiths,  vises,  files,  &c.,  were  needed  for  the  repair  ot 
fire-arms. 

Col.  Mathews  wrote  again,  on  the  29th,  from  Cabin  Point,  in  Surry 
county,  south  of  James  River,  where  he  had  been  ordered  by  Gen. 
Muhlenburg,  and  was  to  proceed  next  morning  to  Smithfield,  in  Isle  of 


488  SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE 

Wight  county.  He  had  been  detained  three  days  by  "  wett  and  the 
badness  of  the  Boats."  He  had  hoped  to  be  supplied  with  tents  and 
ammunition,  but  was  disappointed,  and  had  sent  Capt.  Robert  Gamble 
[lately  a  prisoner  of  war  at  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  now  probably  a  vol- 
unteer aid  to  Col.  Mathews,]  to  solicit  these  articles.  Many  of  the  men 
were  sick  from  exposure,  and  the  Colonel  feared  a  mutiny  if  they  were 
not  supplied.  "The  marching  is  so  severe,  the  duty  on  the  lines  so 
fatiguing,  and  the  exposure  to  the  severity  of  the  season  so  great,  that 
soldiers  must  be  expected  to  grumble  at  their  hardships."  A  surgeon 
was  needed,  and  the  letter  requested  that  Dr.  Foushee,  or  some  other 
good  surgeon,  be  ordered  to  join  the  rifle  corps.  The  smiths,  vises, 
&c.,  had  not  arrived,  and  many  of  the  rifles  were  out  of  order. 

Brig.  Gen.  Robert  Lawson  wrote  to  Governor  Jefl^erson,  on  February 
15th,  having  left  the  command  in  lower  Virginia  on  the  13th.  He  saj'S  : 
"Our  advanced  Post  is  near  Hall's,  consisting  of  nearly  350  Riflemen 
under  Col.  Mathews,  with  about  150  pick'd  musqueteers,  under  Major 
Dick,  with  some  light  horse.''  Hall's  was  in  the  vicinity  of  Ports- 
mouth, then  occupied  by  the  British.  Of  this  expedition  of  Col. 
Mathews  and  his  men,  we  have  no  further  account. 

Gen.  Lawson  hastened  to  call  out  the  militia  of  Prince  Edward, 
Cumberland  and  other  counties,  to  reinforce  Gen.  Greene  in  North  Caro- 
lina, and  is  the  officer  who  "  raged  very  much  "  after  the  battle  of  Guil- 
ford, as  stated  on  page  473. 

Gen.  Greene  being  hard-pressed  by  Cornwallis,  it  seems  to  have  been 
proposed  to  send  the  militia  already  in  the  field  to  North  Carolina.  In 
reference  to  this  matter,  Baron  Steuben  wrote  to  the  Governor  on  Feb- 
ruary 15th.  He  agreed  with  the  Governor  that  "the  militia  of  Rock- 
bridge, Augusta,  Rockingham  and  Shenandoah  would  be  the  most 
speedy  reinforcement  to  General  Greene,  but  they  must  first  be  relieved 
by  others."  He  advised  that  the  officers  of  the  militia  be  consulted, 
and  if  they  consented  to  go  the  Governor  should  issue  the  necessary 
order.  As  far  as  appears,  the  regiment  or  battalion  under  Col. 
Mathews  was  not  ordered  to  North  Carolina,  but  other  companies  went 
from  the  Valley  under  Tate,  Moffett,  &c. 

Capt.  Robert  Porterfield,  a  paroled  prisoner  at  Charleston,  S.  C, 
wrote  to  the  Governor  February  i,  1781,  informing  him  that  his  brother, 
Lt.-Col.  Charles  Porterfield,  had  died  on  the  loth  ult.,  on  his  way  from 
Camden  to  Charleston,  [or  Charlestown,  as  then  written,]  from  the 
effects  of  a  wound  at  the  battle  of  Camden  on  August  16,  1780.  The 
British  officer.  Lord  Rawdon,  had  loaned  Col.  P.  thirty  guineas,  and 
otherwise  treated  him  with  great  kindness.  Capt.  Porterfield  asked  the 
Governor  to  pay  the  money,  as  he  flattered  himself  his  brother's  ser- 
vices had  merited  it  from  the  State.  If  this  could  not  be  done,  he 
begged  a  loan  of  the  amount,  promising  to  return  it  immediately  on  his 
release.    The  guineas  were  not  forthcoming,  and  Capt.   P.  wrote  to 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  489 

Gov.  Nelson  on  the  subject,  August  9,  1781.     He  liad  just  arrived  at 
Richmond,  as  a  paroled  prisoner,  from  Charleston. 

Joseph  Bell,  of  Augusta  county,  was,  in  1781,  what  would  now  be 
called  a  "  Commissary  of  Subsistence,"  or  at  any  rate  an  agent  for 
buying  cattle,  and  on  February  24th  wrote  to  the  Governor  in  regard 
to  his  difficulties.  The  farmers  were  unwilling  to  sell  to  the  State  on 
credit,  and  under  orders  from  Col.  Wood  he  had  seized  many  cattle. 
Attorneys,  ''  paid  to  do  so,"  pronounced  the  proceeding  illegal,  and  he 
expected  to  be  sued.  He  said,  however :  "Good  Whigs  perform  their 
duty  with  most  punctuality." 

Here  we  have  another  echo  from  the  battle  of  Guilford  C.  H. — Maj. 
Charles  Magill  wrote  to  Governor  Jefferson,  from  Gen.  Greene's  head- 
quarters, March  19,  1781  :  "  I  am  sorry  to  inform  your  E.xcellency  that  a 
number  of  the  Virginia>tnilitia  have  sully'd  the  Laurels  reap'd  in  the 
Action,  by  making  one  frivolous  pretence  and  another,  to  return  home. 
A  number  have  left  the  Army  very  precipitately,  the  best  men  from 
Augusta  and  Rockbridge  have  been  forenxost  on  this  occasion." 

Maj.  Thomas  Posey,  recruiting  for  the  regular  army  at  Staunton, 
wrote  to  the  Governor,  March  27,  1781,  that  according  to  Baron  Steu- 
ben's orders  he  could  not  enlist  any  man  under  5  feet  4  inches.  There 
were  men  well  adapted  to  military  service  vviio  did  not  reach  that 
standard,  and  he  asked  for  discretionary  powers  in  such  cases. 

In  Vols.  II  and  III  of  the  Calendar,  &€.,  we  find  letters  from  public 
officers  which  give  some  idea  of  the  state  of  things  in  Augusta  and 
other  Valley  counties  toward  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war. 

Col.  William  Preston,  County  Lieutenant  of  Montgomery,  wrote  to 
Gov.  Jefferson,  April  13,  1781,  in  reference  to  a  call  upon  the  militia 
to  reinforce  Gen.  Greene,  that  "nearly  one-half  of  our  militia  are  dis- 
affected, and  therefore  cannot  be  drawn  into  the  service  either  by 
threats  or  otherwise  ;  and  should  they  be  punished  according  to  law, 
they  would  either  withdraw  to  the  mountains,  or  embody  and  disturb 
the  peace  of  the  county."  Moreover,  the  frontier  of  the  county  was 
exposed  to  depredations  by  Indians,  and  the  men  could  not  join  Greene's 
army  without  leaving  their  families  exposed,  etc. 

On  the  20th  of  April,  Col.  Samuel  McDowell,  of  Rockbridge,  wrote 
to  the  Governor  that  a  draft  was  ordered  to  take  place  on  the  26th,  but 
the  men  drawn  would  be  ruined.  Most  of  them  were  in  service  in  the 
fall  of  1780,  when  Lesley  invaded  the  State,  and  were  prevented  from 
sowing  fall  crops,  and  to  go  now  would  prevent  their  raising  spring 
crops.  With  few  exceptions  they  would  leave  no  one  at  home  to  work 
their  farms.  The  letter  continues :  "  This  county  had,  in  October  last, 
Capt.  James  Gilmer"  [Gilmore]  "and  forty-odd  men  in  Carolina,  under 
Gen.  Morgan,  for  near  four  months,  and  was  at  Tarleton's  defeat  at  the 


490  SUPPLEMENT   TO    THE 

Cow  Pens  in  South  Carolina.  And  there  were  also  three  companies 
drawn  when  Lesley  invaded  the  State ;  their  numbers  were  about  i8o 
men.  On  Arnold's  invasion,  Col.  John  Bowyer  marched  with  about  200 
men  down  the  country.  And  when  Gen.  Greene  retreated  into  Vir- 
ginia *  *  I  marched  near  200  men  from  this  county  to  join  Gen. 
Greene.  *  *  I  with  difficulty  persuaded  the  men  to  cross  the  Dan 
into  Carolina,  and  joined  Gen.  Greene  some  time  before  the  battle  of 
Guilford  Courthouse;  continued  with  him  till  after  the  battle,  the  15th 
of  March  last,  had  i  Capt.  and  4  Privates  killed  ;  twoCapts.  one  Ensign 
and  seven  Privates  wounded,  and  Maj.  Stuart  and  four  Privates  taken 
prisoners.  From  these  different  calls  all  the  men  in  this  county  have 
been  on  hard  service,  each  a  term,  since  October  last,  and  nearly  two- 
thirds  of  them  at  the  same  time." 

Maj  Thomas  Posey  wrote  to  ("ol.  William  Davies,  from  Staunton, 
May  18,  1781,  as  follows:  "The  number  of  men  which  I  have  collected 
at  this  place  (in  deserters  and  others)  amount  tb  twenty-one.  The  draft 
for  eighteen  mouthers  has  not  yet  taken  place  in  any  of  these  back 
counties,  neither  can  I  inform  you  at  what  particular  time  it  will.  The 
people  seem  much  aversed  to  it  in  Augusta  and  Rockbridge,  but  it  don't 
amount  to  a  majority  I  beleave.  However,  a  considerable  number 
met  at  the  place  apointed  for  laying  of  the  Districts,  and  in  a  very  bold 
and  daring  manner,  seased  ihe  papers  and  destroyed  them.  I  don't 
know  where  this  may  stop,  if  there  is  not  a  timeous  check,  in  Hanging 
a  few,  for  examples  to  the  rest.  The  cloathing,  I  understand,  the 
different  counties  is  providing,  as  fast  as  possible,  but  none  as  yet 
delivered  to  me.  I  have  a  deserter  or  two  delivered  to  me  every  five 
or  six  days — I  suppose  I  shall  have  a  comp'y  ot  them  in  a  short  time 
to  send  down." 

Col.  William  Fleming,  acting  Governor  of  Virginia,  was  in  Staunton 
in  June,  1781,  and  on  the  6th  wrote  to  Col.  James  Wood  in  reference  to 
the  removal  of  the  British  prisoners  of  war  from  Albemarle  to  Rut- 
land, Mass.  On  the  9th  he  wrote  again,  advising  that  fifty  men  be 
stationed  at  Swift  Run  Gap,  and  thirty  at  Wood's  Gap,  some  of  them 
mounted,  "so  as  to  discover  in  time  the  approach  of  the  enemy,"  in  an 
attempt  to  rescue  the  prisoners. 

Stephen  Southall,  Quartermaster,  had  280  barrels  of  powder  and  other 
army  supplies,  stored  at  Staunton,  on  the  9th  of  June,  1781. 

Capt.  Henry  Young  wrote  to  Col.  Davies,  June  9th,  from  Staunton, 
where  the  Legislature  was  then  in  session  :  "  We  have  reason  to  appre- 
hend that  the  enemy  are  within  twelve  miles  of  Charlottesville.  I 
apprehended  two  days  ago  a  Deserter  on  suspicion  of  his  being  a  Spie ; 
circumstances  are  strong  against  him,  but  no  positive  proof;  he  says 
that  the  enemy  will  be  hear  in  a  day  or  two — some  confidence  is  reposed 
in  his  assertion  by  many,  for  my  part  I  give  no  credit  to  anything  that 
he  says.  Two  days  ago  Mr.  Nicholas  gave  notice  that  he  shou'd  this 
day  move  to  have  a  Dictator  appointed.  Gen.  Washington  and  Gen. 
Greene  are  talked  of.     I  dare  say  your  Knowledge  of  these  worthy 


ANNALS    OF    AUGUSTA    COUNTY.  491 

Gentlemen  will  be  sufficient  to  convince  you  tliat  neither  of  tiiem  will, 
or  ought  to.  accept  of  such  an  appointment." 

Before  the  introduction  of  putty,  lead  was  used  for  fixing  panes  of 
glass  in  window  sashes,  and  towards  the  close  of  the  war  was  sought 
after  for  moulding  into  bullets.  On  June  13,  1781,  Maj.  John  I'ryor, 
commissary,  wrote  from  Charlottesville  to  Col.  Davies,  at  Staunton, 
that  he  had  sent  out  "  by  Expresses  to  every  probable  Houses  within 
40  miles  extent  along  the  S.  V\^  Mountains,  to  collect  what  can  be  found 
in  the  windows  and  elsewhere."  On  the  14th  he  wrote  again  that  lead 
was  "amazingly  wanted  in  camp." 

By  order  of  Col.  Carrington,  Deputy  Quartermaster-General,  on  June 
14,  1781,  Staunton  was  made  the  principal  depot  for  public  stores 
*'beyond  the  mountains,"  under  Capt.  Thomas  Hamilton. 

Samuel  McDowell  qualified,  at  Staunton,  June  19,  1781.  before  Samp- 
son Mathews,  J.  P.,  as  a  Privy  Councillor,  and  Tliomas  Nelson  as 
Governor. 

Col.  Febiger  wrote  from  camp,  June  30,  17'Si,  to  Col.  Davies,  at 
Staunton,  that  the  men  were  "  literally  naked,  shirts  and  blankets  ex- 
cepted"— unless  supplied,  they  would  from  real  nakedness  be  com- 
pelled to  quitt  the  field."  There  were  not  more  than  twenty  pairs  of 
good  shoes  in  the  regiment.  (No  wonder  men  objected  to  being  drafted 
as  soldiers  under  such  circumstances). 

One-fourth  of  the  Augusta  militia  were  called  out  by  order  of  July 
25th,  and  marched  on  the  8th  of  August  to  lower  Virginia  and  York- 
town,  as  appears  from  a  letter  written  by  Col.  Sampson  Mathews,  Sep- 
tember 4th. 

The  surrender  of  the  British  at  Yorktown  occurred  in  October,  1781, 
and  Col.  George  Mathews  rested  on  his  laurels  at  his  home  in  Augusta. 
Gen.  Greene,  however,  desired  his  aid  in  the  South,  and  on  February 
I,  1782,  the  Colonel  wrote  a  characteristic  letter,  from  "Markit  Hill," 
Augusta,  to  Col.  Davies,  excusing  himself  from  service.  He  was  "  with 
care  and  rigid  economy  endavering  to  presarve  from  rail  want  a  wife 
and  eight  helplis  children,"  left  in  easy  circumstances  when  he  went 
into  the  service.  Moreover,  his  health  was  seriously  impaired.  He 
would  join  Gen.  Greene  in  April,  however,  if  his  health  permitted. 

Until  peace  was  declared  the  army  had  to  be  kept  up,  and  another 
draft  for  regular  service  was  ordered  early  in  1782.  Col.  George  Moffett, 
then  County  Lieutenant  of  Augusta,  wrote  to  Governor  Harrison,  March 
2oth,  with  "much  concern,"  respecting  the  draft  in  Augusta,  which  was 
appointed  for  April  9th.  He  says  "it  is  probable  that  day  will  begin 
in  tumult  and  end  in  something  worse."  The  people  were  indignant  at 
the  proposed  drawing,  and  persuaded  it  was  "  contrary  to  the  mind  of 
the  last  Assembly."  By  a  temporizing  policy  he  hoped  to  avert  the 
threatened  consequences. 

On  May  ist  he  wrote  again— he  had  found  it  impracticable  to  make 
the  draft,  and  had  postponed  it  till  May  28th.     The  Indians  were  in- 


Ibb310 


492     SUPPLEMENT  TO  ANNALS  OF  AUGUSTA  COUNTY. 

vading  the  frontiers,  and  he  had  sent  out  "above eighty  militia,"  exclu- 
sive of  those  sent  to  Tygart's  Valley.  He  thought  it  a  hard  case  that 
he  should  be  called  upon  to  send  70  men  to  defend  Monongalia  county, 
while  the  frontiers  of  Augusta  were  "so  distressed  by  ye  Enemy." 
Col.  Armand's  cavalry  had  lately  come  to  Staunton,  and  but  for  the 
contributions  of  the  inhabitants  would  "  undoubtedly  have  perished 
or  plundered." 

Col.  Moffett  reported,  on  November  8,  1782,  that  more  money  than 
necessary  for  recruiting  had  been  raised,  but  "  not  one  soldier." 

On  May  7,  1783,  Col.  Moftett  wrote  to  the  Governor  about  Indian 
depredations  "nigh  ye  head  of  greenbrier."  Several  persons  had  been 
killed.     He  had  ordered  spies  to  be  sent  out,  etc. 

William  Bowyer,  sheriff  of  Augusta,  wrote  to  the  Governor,  October 
15,  1784,  begging  indulgence  for  delinquency.  He  could  not  collect  the 
public  revenue.  The  condition  of  the  people  was  distressed,  hard 
money  scarce,  and  products  unsaleable. 


In  Dr.  Hale's  book  called  Trans- Alleghany  Pioneers,  is  a  letter  taken 
from  the  files  of  an  Irish  newspaper  of  1774,  preserved  at  Belfast,  giving 
an  account  of  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant,  and  supposed  to  have  been 
written  by  Capt.  Matthew  Arbuckle.  The  writer  mentions  a  Capt. 
McDowell  as  commanding  a  company,  who  is  not  elsewhere  spoken  of 
in  connection  with  the  battle.  He  was  no  doubt  Samuel  McDowell  of 
Augusta,  afterwards  of  Kentucky.  (See  p.  399.)  His  company  did  not 
belong  to  Col.  Charles  Lewis's  regiment,  but  probably  was  composed 
of  scouts. 

The  Journal  of  the  Virginia  Convention  of  1776  furnishes  some  fur- 
ther evidence  touching  the  matter.  On  a  certain  day  the  petition  of 
Michael  Coalter,  a  soldier  of  Capt.  McDowell's  company,  for  additional 
pay  for  services  as  a  carpenter,  was  presented  and  allowed ;  and  on 
another  day,  the  petition  of  John  Lyle,  a  Lieutenant  in  Capt.  McDow- 
ell's company  in  "the  expedition  against  the  Shawnees,"  was  pre- 
sented. John  Lyle  was  probably  the  person  afterwards  known  as  the 
Rev.  John  Lyle  of  Hampshire  county,  who,  according  to  Foote,  was  at 
the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant.  His  extra  services  consisted  in  aiding 
Sampson  Mathews,  "  a  master  drover  of  cattle."  This  is  the  only 
reference  we  have  seen  to  Sampson  Mathews  as  a  member  of  the  expe- 
dition. His  office  was,  of  course,  that  of  Commissary ;  but  as  the  sub- 
sistence of  the  troops  consisted  mainly  of  cattle  driven  afoot,  he  was 
styled  in  the  petition  as  stated.  Michael  Coalter  was  the  father  of 
Judge  John  Coalter.  (For  reference  to  the  Journal  of  the  Conven- 
tion, we  are  indebted  to  Thos.  M.  Green,  Esq.,  author  of  Historical 
Families  of  Kentucky). 


~A 


Photomount 

Pamphlet 

Binder 

Caylord  Bros.,  Inc. 

iVIakers 
Syracuse,  K.  Y. 

PAT.  JAN  21,  1908 


UNIVERSITY  OF  FLORIDA 


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